Liam Neeson Replaces Mel Gibson In “The Hangover 2″

Liam Neeson has stepped into the cameo role of a side-splitting tattoo artist in next year’s sequel to the 2009 comedy The Hangover, replacing scandal-scarred star Mel Gibson, Variety reports.

“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. 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,” says an excited Liam.

On Thursday, Gibson was dropped from what had been billed as a career-saving role after a summer that included the leak of racially and sexually-charged tirades between Gibson and former flame Oksana Grigorieva, as well as a domestic violence/extortion scandal. The Russian singer accuses Gibson of physical and verbal abuse. He brands Oksana a golddigging money grubber and extortionist. Los Angeles authorities are investigating both Grigorieva and Gibson. So perhaps not surprisingly, the Oscar winner’s buzzsworthy stunt triggered protests from the film’s crew and cast, including reportedly stars Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper.

Ultimately, it was director Todd Phillips who made the decision to slice OctoMel from the cast of The Hangover 2. “I thought Mel would have been great in the movie. But I realize filmmaking is a collaborative effort, and this decision ultimately did not have the full support of my entire cast and crew,” Phillips remarked.

Do you think Mel Gibson should’ve been dropped from The Hangover 2?