Have you heard the good news? I want to go around asking strangers this as I commute into work or walk to the shops, like some wild-eyed street evangelist. “Have you heard, good sir? Have you heard, madam? It very much appears that the rumours are true – Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson are now an item!”
I’m not normally one to go in for tawdry, tabloid gossip, nor do I usually have my finger remotely on the pulse when it comes to the latest celebrity couplings (often only discovering a pair of A-listers were even together upon their break-up). But this one is special; far from leaving me indifferent, here lies a love story with the power to make me practically bubble over with joy and excitement. Yes, it may concern two people I don’t actually know, but that is irrelevant. I have found myself properly and unashamedly obsessed with the idea of a Liamela/Pamiam mash-up.
The sparks seemingly began to fly while the pair were shooting the new The Naked Gun film, in which Neeson, 73, plays the lead and Anderson, 58, his love interest. Way back in October, the internet couldn’t help noticing the way the Taken actor gushed when asked about his co-star. “With Pamela, first off, I’m madly in love with her,” he told People. “She’s just terrific to work with. I can’t compliment her enough, I’ll be honest with you.”
And when it came time to promote the film in press junkets and interviews this summer, their chemistry on screen had noticeably leapt into the real world. They posed with their arms around each other on the red carpet, visibly relaxed and delighted by each other’s presence; Anderson sent fans into a frenzy by kissing Neeson tenderly on the cheek before wiping her lipstick off his face, the kind of assured, natural gesture that has all the hallmarks of belonging to an established couple.
Not that either of them has outright admitted to it. When asked about their potential romantic involvement, Neeson played dumb, saying: “What? I don’t understand the question.” Then the pair played up to the collective fascination with their relationship status on The Today Show, pretending to get caught in the act and giggling like schoolchildren when shown footage of them appearing to kiss.
Of course, it could all just be for the cameras, a smart way of generating attention for the new film at a time when spoof comedies aren’t the bankable genre they once were. And yet even their nearest and dearest appear to be confirming the budding relationship. When asked whether we had him to thank for the romance of the moment, Naked Gun director Akiva Schaffer told Entertainment Weekly: “I dunno. I mean, how do you capture that lightning in a bottle? The spark of love.” And when the follow-up question quizzed him on whether he knew the press tour would be his cast members’ “hard launch”, he responded: “I certainly hoped it would. I certainly was rooting for them, and I thought others would too.” He concluded with the piece de resistance: “So them being little dirty flirts – why not?”
Meanwhile, Joely Richardson, the sister of Neeson’s late wife Natasha Richardson, seemed to subtly endorse his new chapter by commenting with a string of red heart emojis under an Instagram photo of Neeson and Anderson sharing a box of popcorn.
It’s far from the first time co-stars have coupled up – indeed, the vast majority of Hollywood marriages (and affairs) can trace their beginnings back to a movie set. But it’s the first one in a long time that seems to have genuinely captured the public’s imagination – and one of the very few ever to have prompted positive reactions across the board. I have yet to encounter a single person who has greeted the news with anything less than giddy excitement and sincerest well wishes – as if it were happening to two dear friends, rather than two very famous people.
The response is due, in part, to the fact that both actors independently come across as authentic, decent and down-to-earth human beings. Anderson, in particular, has undergone something of a rebirth over the past few years. Her decision to go makeup-free for Paris Fashion Week in 2023 sent shockwaves across the media and kickstarted what’s been called a natural beauty revolution; since then, she’s spoken openly about the futility of trying to outrun ageing, and of how empowering it has been to go bare-faced at red carpet events and finally start dressing for herself.
I certainly was rooting for them, and I thought others would too
“I am much more comfortable in my own skin, but I also am in an industry that really focuses on beauty. And I thought, ‘I’m going to challenge beauty,’” she said of the choice on Today.com. “I think challenging ourselves is what keeps us young and beautiful. And I think, really, genuinely, beauty does come from within and you don’t have to play the game.”
The result has been simply gorgeous – a sophisticated aesthetic that’s about as far away from the heavy warpaint and skimpy outfits that helped propel her to stratospheric fame in the Nineties Baywatch heyday as it’s possible to get. Meanwhile, Anderson’s triumphant acting comeback in 2024’s The Last Showgirl, alongside interviews in which she presents as unfailingly eloquent, thoughtful and whip-smart, has finally put to bed any (clearly nonsense) “dumb blonde” assumptions.
And then there’s Neeson. He was married to fellow actor Natasha Richardson for 15 years, until she tragically died in a skiing accident in 2009 at the age of 45. Other than one two-year stint with a public relations executive not long after her death, he has never dated anyone publicly since. In 2020, Neeson told Entertainment Inquirer of his late wife: “I speak to her every day at her grave which is about a mile-and-a-half down the road. I go down there quite often, so I do speak to her as if she’s here. Not that she answers me.”
There’s a sense that few people could be quite so deserving of a second chapter, or another chance at love, than Neeson. More broadly, there’s something inherently hopeful about people finding love later in life – proof that getting older is no obstacle to falling head over heels, and that you never know when or where your next great love might strike. People were similarly charmed upon discovering that actor Meryl Streep and comedian Martin Short were potentially loved up at the age of 76 and 75 respectively; fans were in raptures when British comic Miranda Hart revealed she had secretly got married for the first time in her fifties. Past a certain age, it just hits different.
So, until one or both of them provide conclusive proof that they really are “just friends”, I shall continue to shout about Neeson and Anderson’s romance from the rooftops. In a world filled with uncertainty, darkness and suffering, a little dirty flirting that’s bringing joy to millions is one bit of celebrity gossip I can get behind.
