Pamela Anderson credits her costar and boyfriend, Liam Neeson, with helping her feel confident in her ability to succeed in their action-comedy film, The Naked Gun.
“He has so much charm and so much charisma that you kind of just fall into it,” Anderson, 58, gushed about Neeson, 73, to The New York Times on Thursday, July 31. “I can’t explain it because I’ve never experienced it before.”
After being typecast as a sex symbol for much of her career, Anderson admitted that she sometimes felt unsure that she could do a comedy film. However, she said that Neeson, who primarily became known as an action star after 2009’s Taken, simply told her in times of uncertainty, “You’re doing great.”
Anderson continued, “To do comedy, it gives you a lot of energy when you’re in something so joyful and silly. Liam has done over 100 movies, and I hope he’s inspired to do even more.”
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A source confirmed to Us Weekly on Tuesday, July 29, that Neeson and Anderson “are dating” after they met while filming The Naked Gun, in which they play Detective Frank Drebin Jr. and Beth Davenport.
The insider said that the pair “always had chemistry while they were filming and their friendship naturally developed into more.” And though this next level in their relationship is “new” for Anderson and Neeson, the source said they’re “learning how to navigate it together” as they promote their reboot of the 1988 action-comedy.
“They are both shy and have tried to stay private but the spark between them is obvious,” the source added.
Anderson and Neeson made headlines when they cozied up to each other on the red carpet at the U.K. premiere of The Naked Gun on July 22. The two were photographed holding hands, and at one point, Anderson kissed Neeson on the cheek.
Pamela Anderson, Liam Neeson Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM
Amid questions about the nature of their relationship, the costars addressed the romance speculation during an appearance on Today on Tuesday.
“I had never met Pamela before. We met on set. And we discovered we had a lovely, budding chemistry — as two actors,” Neeson explained. “It’s like, ‘Oh, this is nice. Let’s not mold this. Let’s just let it breathe.’ And that’s what we did.”
The couple has support from their loved ones, including Anderson’s sons, Brandon, 29, and Dylan, 27, whom she shares with ex-husband Tommy Lee. Us’ source shared that Brandon and Dylan “love seeing her happy and fully approve” of the relationship, adding that they “think Liam is great and have gotten to know him better in the last few months.”
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Both of Anderson’s sons attended the New York premiere of The Naked Gun and posed with their mom, as well as with Neeson and his two sons, Micheál, 30, and Daniel, 28, whom he shared with late wife Natasha Richardson. (Richardson died in a ski accident at 45 years old in March 2009.)
Richardson’s close friend Andy Cohen revealed that her inner circle also approves of the relationship.
“Natasha was a dear friend of mine,” Cohen, 37, said on Sirius XM’s Radio Andy on Wednesday, July 30. “And I’m gonna tell you something, I and all of the friends in this circle, are very much stanning, whatever this is.”
