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Pamela Anderson is following in some famous footsteps.
Anderson, 58, stars in this summer’s The Naked Gun remake alongside Liam Neeson. Neeson, 72, plays Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin from the original The Naked Gun films. Anderson plays his love interest, Beth.
In the three original films — 1988’s The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, 1991’s The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear and 1994’s Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult — Drebin’s love interest, Jane Spencer, was played by Priscilla Presley. Speaking with PEOPLE at The Naked Gun’s UK premiere on July 22 at Cineworld Leicester Square, London, Anderson revealed that she was in touch with Presley, 80, before filming.
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“She reached out to me,” Anderson revealed, “And she said, ‘Have fun with it. Don’t be afraid to be silly.’ It’s good advice.”
Though Presley was not considered a comic actress before she was cast in the films, she received great reviews for her work in the original Naked Gun films. The New York Times wrote of her performance in The Naked Gun 2½, “Miss Presley is a winsome Juliet to [Nielsen’s] clumsy Romeo, a willing Ginger to his ardent Fred, a worldly Jane to his Tarzan.”
At the Tuesday night event, Anderson said she had “so much fun” working with Neeson on the new The Naked Gun. She said, “He’s so silly and goofy, and so am I, so we got along great on and off camera.” She teased that when fans see the movie, it will be “very clear” what her “favorite part” of it was.
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Back in October, Neeson praised Anderson to PEOPLE, explaining, “With Pamela, first off, I’m madly in love with her. She’s just terrific to work with.”
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“I can’t compliment her enough, I’ll be honest with you,” he continued. “No huge ego. She just comes in to do the work. She’s funny and so easy to work with. She’s going to be terrific in the film.”
This year, Anderson received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for her starring role in The Last Showgirl. And though she had plenty of acting credits — including Baywatch and Scary Movie — the actress told PEOPLE, “I feel like I’ve just started my career now, so I’m just really excited to be such a part of this and to play a real character.” This summer, Anderson is also starring in the Tennessee Williams play Camino Real at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
The Naked Gun hits theaters Friday, Aug. 1.
