Name: Liam Neeson Has A Particular Set Of Skills | Letterman
Uploaded: 2023-08-29T22:00:34.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Liam Neeson Has A Particular Set Of Skills | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2023-08-29. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Liam Neeson Has A Particular Set Of Skills | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2023-08-29. Transcript available.

Our next guest's films include The Good Mother, The Mission, and one of the
summer's surprise hits, Darkman.
Ladies and gentlemen, here he is, Liam Neeson. Mr. Neeson.
Nice to see you. Come on over here. Thank you to have me with us. Have a seat,
sir.
Well, this is quite a deal for you, isn't it? The Darkman.
I'm sure I might have a little tough Danny Boy coming through the screens there.
I'm sorry, what was that?
Danny Boy. I thought we might have a little...
A little Danny Boy? Would you like to hear a little Danny Boy?
I'd love to.
Paul, a little Danny Boy for Darkman, if you will.
Thanks, Paul.
Now, for people who have not seen...
By the way, I thought that they did a very effective job promoting this film.
They did, didn't they?
Yeah, because it was very exciting wondering what Darkman would be.
Yeah, and it was a little bit intimidating, too, because it was, you know, who
is Darkman?
I think people would have thought, oh, it must be a big, huge megastar.
So then when they heard it was Liam Neeson, who the hell is Liam Neeson?
But the film is very intriguing and almost sort of a sinister in feeling.
It is, Dave, but it's also a laugh.
It's entertainment.
It's supposed to be humorous.
It's humorous.
Tell people what it is.
Well, it's about a scientist, played by myself, who gets tortured and blown up
by a gang of thugs.
He's presumed dead, and the hospital carries out an operation whereby they cut
certain nerves at the back of the, to the head.
So he comes back with revenge, looking for revenge, and he's this kind of caped
crusader.
He's covered in bandages.
That's good.
Yeah.
Horribly, horribly disfigured, you know?
What was it, the cutting of the nerves that caused him to seek revenge?
Is that what he was really pissed off about?
Actually, you have a point, yeah.
Poor medical care, that, yeah, set anybody off.
Tell us about your life before you became a film actor.
What was your family life like?
Where did you grow up?
What did you do as a kid?
I grew up in a town called Ballymena, which is in County Antrim.
Thanks.
In the north of Ireland.
The Czechs and the Post.
And I have three sisters, my dad has passed away, my mom's, so my family all
lived there.
And what was life like for you?
What did your father do?
My father was a caretaker of a boys' primary school, and he was a very easygoing,
very laid-back man.
In fact, he was stopped in his van once by the police because he was driving
too slow.
That kind of epitomized my father, you know?
And what did you do as a kid?
Were you athletic?
Did you play sports?
Did you play soccer?
No, never soccer, but I played gala games, hurling, and I was an amateur boxer
for about seven or eight years.
Oh, man, did you enjoy that?
Well, how can you, I guess you, well, can you enjoy being a boxer?
Do you know, I boxed for seven or eight years.
I must admit, I never did enjoy it.
I did it because I felt that was the thing to do, you know?
And with your peer group and stuff, you know?
Were you good at it?
Were you accomplished?
Did you have a pretty good record?
I was Irish champion for one year.
Wow.
Like many years.
Irish champion for a year?
I was about eight.
Yeah.
How old were you then?
I was about 14, 15.
Yeah.
And you'd travel around the country having boxing meets with other schools?
All over the place.
And the Irish championships were always held in Dublin, which is the capital of
the Republic of Ireland.
And the first year we went down, there was a group of about three or four of us.
And it was our first outing out of the town, you know?
So it's a big time for the kids.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But we all got beat on the opening preliminary fights because we discovered 10-pin
bowling.
That's ruined many a boxer.
That's what brought Sonny Liston down, that 10-pin bowling.
Yeah.
So we crept out of the hotel in order to play 10-pin bowling.
And the trainer said no, we had gone.
So by the time we got back, like, my knuckles were trailing on the ground
because my arms were down.
So you guys were just completely worn down.
We were worn down.
And where do you live now?
I am based in Los Angeles.
Based in Los Angeles.
Now, do you like it?
You don't seem...
Well, no, tell me.
Do you like Los Angeles?
It's...
I feel it's a place to be, Dave, you know?
But do you enjoy your life there?
I...
Yes, I do.
Yes and no.
It's got, you know, it's...
The weather's lovely and it's...
Yeah, the weather is great.
It's wonderful.
But there's no...
I miss Europe.
It's not a real city.
It doesn't have a center.
It doesn't...
Do you...
When you're back in Ireland, do you spend a lot of time in pubs?
Do you drink?
Do you...
No, I used to, you know?
You used to drink.
Yeah.
No more?
But no, I give it up.
I give it up.
Because especially in Los Angeles as well, in this town too, like to go to any
pub or anywhere,
you have to drive, you know?
And that's a bit...
That's not a good idea.
At least in Ireland, you can stagger down the street and enter a little...
What is life in an Irish pub like?
Is it as romantic as we might think, as what we've heard?
Or is it just like any other bar, really?
It's not really, Dave.
When I grew up, they were...
It's the social center.
And they still are, certainly in Dublin and Belfast too.
And they're very important to the community.
And it's a gathering place, first and foremost.
And you go and you can discuss politics, anything, any subject under the sun.
It's always being discussed.
It's not just a place to go and throw back liquor and then start looking for a
fight, you know?
But as more and more liquor is consumed, does the quality of conversation go up
or go down?
It's...strangely enough, it does go up, you know?
Is that right?
But the only thing is, the next morning, you can't remember what the hell you
were talking about.
You seem like a terrific guy.
And congratulations on the success of this film.
Will there be a Darkman 2, do you think?
There may be.
I think the powers that be will decide if it makes enough money at all.
Yeah, well, good for you.
Good for you, good for you.
I'm glad it's a big hit.
Nice meeting you.
Thank you very much.
Liam Neeson, kids, it's Darkman.
We'll be right back here.
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Okay.
I want to thank everybody who was here with us tonight.
First, of course, another wonderful studio audience.
Nice to see you folks.
Thanks for being here.
Thanks also to Jimmy Walker and Mr. Neeson.
Oh, by the way, Billy Bragg, we ran out of time.
Mr. Bragg will be here, I believe, tomorrow.
Tomorrow night.
Oh, yeah.
Come on down here and fight us both, will you?
My thanks also to Bob Costas.
And tomorrow it's Robin Wright, Giant Alaskan Vegetables, and John Palmer.
Nice to see you folks.
Have a good night.