Pamela Anderson has shared her thoughts on Liam Neeson’s recent praise for her, calling him “the perfect gentleman” to work with.
The two famous actors teamed up earlier this year to film a reboot of the classic cop comedy *The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!*—a movie first released in 1988, originally starring Leslie Nielsen.
It didn’t take long for *Love Actually* star Liam Neeson to publicly praise Anderson, describing her as “terrific” to work with.
In the upcoming *The Naked Gun* reboot, expected in 2025, Liam Neeson steps into the role of Drebin Jr., likely playing the son of Frank Drebin from the 1988 classic. While Pamela Anderson’s character hasn’t been revealed yet, fans know she shares several scenes with Neeson. In a recent interview with *People*, Neeson opened up about filming with the *Baywatch* star.
Neeson, 72, even admitted, “I’m madly in love with Pamela Anderson.” He added, “She’s just terrific to work with. I can’t compliment her enough.” He praised her professionalism, noting she has “no huge ego,” shows up “just to do the work,” and is both “funny” and “easy to work with.” Neeson believes Anderson will be “terrific” in the film.
Anderson has since responded warmly to his praise, showing mutual respect and appreciation for Neeson as a colleague.
Pamela Anderson recently returned the compliments Liam Neeson shared, describing him as an actor who “brings out the best in you” with “respect, kindness, and depth of experience.” Anderson, 57, recalled how Neeson “sincerely looked after” her during filming, even wrapping his coat around her when she felt cold. She called him the “perfect gentleman” and said, “It was an absolute honor to work with him.”
Neeson, despite some doubts about doing a comedy, confessed he wasn’t entirely sure if he could “carry it.” Anderson quickly offered her support, describing him as “humble” and noting it was “hard to keep a straight face” when they were on set together.
The *Naked Gun* reboot is based on an original story by Seth MacFarlane, with a screenplay co-written by Akiva Schaffer, Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, Mark Hentemann, and Alec Sulkin. Directed by Schaffer and produced by MacFarlane and Erica Huggins, the film is set to be released by Paramount Pictures on August 1, 2025.
Stockard Channing: The star from ‘Grease’ is 80 & looks unrecognizable now
After all these years, I don’t think there’s ever been a more charismatic or relatable Rizzo than Stockard Channing.
Channing was a great artist and her singing was just fantastic in Grease – but nowadays, the 80-year-old looks almost unrecognizable.
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The first movie I ever saw Stockard Channing in was called The Big Bus and I thought it was hilarious. But back then, I could never imagine that she would go on and have such a remarkable career.
Today, Stockard Channing is best known for her iconic portrayal of Betty Rizzo in Grease, the 1978 American musical romantic comedy film based on the 1971 musical of the same name. Like many before me have pointed out, Channing was by far the best Rizzo out of all that have played the part.
Many probably also recognize Channing from the series The West Wing, where she starred as First Lady Abbey Bartlet. The experienced actress was praised for her instant chemistry with Martin Sheen, who played President Josiah Barlet.
“It just worked,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2020.
“We had this chemistry from the beginning. I don’t know what it was, but we had it and it didn’t go away. It was a happy accident.”
Starring as Beth Rizzo
But let’s take a deeper look at the highlight of Channing’s career. Because in the name of honesty, she hasn’t appeared in any major motion picture since Grease, even though she has continued to act in films and on Broadway.
The 13-time Emmy Award nominee and seven-time Tony Award nominee appears to be totally fine with being most remembered for her portrayal of bad girl Beth Rizzo, one of the Pink Ladies in Grease.
But is that really the whole truth?
Back in 1973, Channing had little breakthrough starring in the TV-movie The Girl Most Likely to…, a black comedy about revenge.
“A lot of people talk about the G-word [Grease] and all of that, but back in the day, I had as many people stop me in the street about that one movie. Because it’s about revenge, and people would sit in their living rooms and go, ‘Oh, I’m the only person watching this’ or ‘this person understands me.’ I’m not kidding. It was a million years ago, and then it was the highest-rated movie of the week. Revenge always works,” she says.
According to Channing, she has only watched Grease only two times.
“I used to be grumpy about Grease because I thought it was a kids’ movie or something. But now it’s sort of amazing. I’m very proud of it,” she told The Times in 2019.
The Manhattan-born actress was 33 years old when she played Rizzo and playing a high school teenager wasn’t so easy for her.
”I was so much older than she was in life, but I could not think about that so I sort of threw myself back to what I felt when I was her age over, even younger. The complexity of adolescents and hormones and sexuality and all of that other stuff. Seeing that I really was older I think that added to the isolation of Rizzo,” Channing told Broadway World.
Channing, who became interested in acting at an early age, was thrilled when she was offered the role of Rizzo, and her performance made her a top-ranking star in the late 1970s. She earned a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Supporting Actress, but the New York native had difficulty achieving similar success after Grease.
The beloved actress was handed two sitcoms of her own, Stockard Channing in Just Friends (1979) and The Stockard Channing Show (1980), but neither was successful and her career halted.
But with her look of Elizabeth Taylor and air of calm confidence, Channing didn’t give up and she continued to work as an actress, appearing in many highly-praised movies and stage plays. Her latest appearance on the big screen came was in Angry Neighbors, which premiered in 2022.
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