Liam Neeson's Cameo Cut from 'Hangover 2'

By Christine Fenno Posted Apr 9th 2011 10:36AM

For the highly anticipated sequel to 'The Hangover,' Liam Neeson replaced Mel Gibson in the cameo role of a Bangkok tattoo artist -- after cast and crew allegedly objected to Gibson's participation -- and the scene reportedly went off without a hitch.

But as it turns out, moviegoers won't see Neeson in 'The Hangover: Part II,' after all. What happened?

First, director Todd Phillips decided on reshoots, according to Variety. However, since the comedy (starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) opens Memorial Day weekend, he had precious little time to shoot new footage. Neeson, tied up working on a 'Clash of the Titans' sequel in London, was unavailable to re-do his cameo for Phillips, who had no choice but to re-cast the role yet again.

Thinking fast, the director turned to a friend, Nick Cassavetes (director of 'The Notebook'). "We were in a complete time crunch, so I called up Nick and asked if he would do the part," Phillips explained. "He came in and crushed it, and that is the scene that you will ultimately see in the film....It turned out great."

Neeson, at 58, evolved into a full-blown action star this year with the opening of the PG-13 thriller 'Unknown.' While promoting the flick, he opened up in an interview about his urge to stay busy in Hollywood after losing his beloved wife, Natasha Richardson, two years ago: "It's easy enough to plan jobs, to plan a lot of work," he said. "But that's the weird thing about grief. You can't prepare for it. You think you're gonna cry and get it over with. You make those plans, but they never work."

Tags: Hangover 2, liam neeson, mel gibson, The Hangover