Liam Neeson is happy to talk a little shit about Qui-Gon Jinn
In between giving his impressions of both George Lucas and flying blue bug monster Watto, Neeson called his character's iconic death "a bit namby-pamby."
Liam Neeson is out on the promo tour at the moment, producing lots of fun interview moments and soundbites in support of his new Naked Gun movie. (And, so far at least, no incredibly worrying, racially tinged revenge fantasies. Hooray!) That includes Neeson looking back on his long and storied career, sometimes with reverence—when, say, talking about Schindler’s List—and sometimes not so much.
Case in point: Neeson’s conversation with GQ this week about filming Star Wars: Episode 1—The Phantom Menace, and his role as surprisingly ineffective Jedi mentor Qui-Gon Jinn. Describing the general style of the film’s swordfights as “cowboys in armor,” Neeson recounts the famous story in which he and Ewan McGregor both got caught making the lightsaber noises with their mouths the first time they used them in a scene. But also, the Taken star has some notes: “I thought my death was a bit namby-pamby,” he remarks, suggesting that a true Jedi Master wouldn’t have fallen for—in Neeson’s words—the old “‘Oh, I’m going for your face! No, I’m not, I’m going for your stomach.’ ‘Oh, you got me!’”
Neeson seems ever-so-slightly amused about the whole process, noting that George Lucas specifically told him that he doesn’t really enjoy directing actors, and only really comes alive when in the editing bay. (Giving his impression of Lucas’ directing style, Neeson deadpanned, “Natalie, a little bit faster. Liam, a little bit faster there.”) Also, that same interview—a career-wide retrospective— briefly gives the viewer a taste of the actor’s impression of flying blue stereotype creature Watto, in case that was something you were actively missing from your life.
Elsewhere in the interview, Neeson talks about reprising the role for the Obi-Wan show—basically waving it off as a nice way to hang out with McGregor for a day—talks about his genuine shock that both Taken and Batman Begins became big hits, and speaks glowingly about working with Pamela Anderson on Naked Gun.
