Liam Neeson recalls "very sweet" memory when filming Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

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The Star Wars actor revealed that his son loved R2-D2

liam neeson in star wars
(Image credit: Disney)

Liam Neeson has shared a sweet interaction his son had when visiting him on The Phantom Menace set. The actor played Qui-Gon Jinn in the Star Wars prequel film. 

Ahead of his co-star Ewan McGregor reprising his role for the Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi, Neeson was quizzed about his time on the film. In a chat with Screen Rant, he shared his memories of filming the movie back in 1998 in London. 

This included a particularly adorable moment his son Michael had with R2-D2. He explained: "I'll tell you a funny story. My son, Michael, was two. His nanny brought him out to visit me on set and it was lunchtime. I held him in my arms and took him around the set and there was R2-D2, just sitting parked."

"My son looked at this strange piece of metal, in my arms, and just went, '[stretches arms out],'" Neeson continued. "So I had to let him down and he waddled over and started hugging R2-D2."

Neeson revealed that his son had never seen Star Wars at that point, but had clearly connected with the beloved droid. Calling the moment "very sweet", the Taken actor also shared that director George Lucas was not surprised by the interaction when they discussed it later.

He added: "I remember telling George Lucas after lunch, I said, 'I brought my son on. He had to go down and hug R2-D2 and it was really touching.' And George said, 'Yeah. R2-D2 has that effect on kids.'"

Fay Watson
Fay Watson
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.