Casting Liam Neeson in a reboot of the Leslie Nielsen franchise The Naked Gun may seem at first glance to be purely linguistic, but they have a lot more in common than just their names. They both made big career shifts in their 50s, with Nielsen gravitating toward classic comedies like Airplane and The Naked Gun; Neeson moved from heavy dramas to kickass action thrillers. Both of them retained their gravitas and skill, no matter the film.