Liam Neeson To Replace Mel Gibson In ‘The Hangover 2’

So long, Mel Gibson. Hello… Liam Neeson?!?

The veteran actor has been tapped to fill Mel’s cameo in “The Hangover 2,” Neeson told Variety.

“I just got a call to do a one day shoot on ‘Hangover 2’ as a tattooist in Thailand, and that’s all I know about it,” Liam told the trade. “I just laughed my leg off when I saw ‘The Hangover, I was shooting in Berlin earlier this year and rented it on the hotel TV.”

A rep for the actor confirmed the news to Access Hollywood on Friday.

“It’s true pending clearance of cast and crew background check,” the actor’s rep told Access.

While some may be left scratching their head as to why Liam – not necessarily known for his comedic chops – would be cast in the part, it was apparently all thanks to his former “A-Team” co-star (and “Hangover” leading man) Bradley Cooper.

According to Liam, Bradley invited him to step into the vacant role.

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, on Thursday, Warner Bros. and director Todd Phillips confirmed Mel was axed from his planned cameo after members of the cast and crew complained about his involvement.

“I thought Mel would have been great in the movie and I had the full backing of Jeff Robinov and his team. But I realize filmmaking is a collaborative effort, and this decision ultimately did not have the full support of my entire cast and crew,” the director said, in a statement issued to Access Hollywood by Warner Bros.

While Phillips didn’t specify who on the cast may have complained, several reports are suggesting funnyman Zach Galifianakis may have been leading the anti-Gibson charge, thanks to a recent podcast the comedian did, during which he hinted he was having a dispute on one of his current projects.

“I’m in a deep protest right now with a movie I’m working on, up in arms about something. But I can’t get the guys to [listen]…I’m not making any leeway,” Galifianakis said in a Comedy Death-Ray podcast last week. “A movie you’re acting in, you don’t have a lot of control—you just show up and vomit your lines out.

“It has something to do with a movie I’m working on, yeah. I’ll tell you about it later. It’s very frustrating,” he added.

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