For those that don't know, the most protective dad in Hollywood (that's Liam Neeson) used to date the legend that is Dame Helen Mirren.
A couple of years ago Mirren spoke very sweetly of Neeson and a memorable camping trip they took together.
"I went camping with an ex-boyfriend of mine, Liam Neeson," Mirren recalled. "I lived with him for years. We went camping in Cornwall. He loved camping as well. And we had this little car and Liam is 6'4". His head was sticking out of the car, really. We had our tent in the back and all our little stuff, our little stove and everything. We get down there and we're camping in this tiny tent, all 6'4" of Liam and me. And we camp in this field, not like an official camping site with electricity, loos and showers - just literally a field."
This week, Neeson had the opportunity to return the cute rambles as Mirren was reunited with Neeson during a recent episode of The Graham Norton Show – and was left pleasantly surprised when her former boyfriend recalled the moment he first fell for her.
And, as you can imagine, it was all-too adorable.
The pair met on the set of their 1981 fantasy film, Excalibur and dated between 1980 and 1985, or as Mirren corrected, “We didn’t date. We lived together for four years – lucky me!”
Neeson then recounted the 'wow' moment for him; when he knew he'd fallen in love with her.
“I remember being on the set and standing with Ciarán Hinds as Helen walked towards us dressed in her full Morgana Le Fey costume and we both went, ‘Oh f***,” he said. "I was smitten. I think Ciarán was too but I was very smitten!”
Mirren, who said she hadn't heard the story before, was touched that Neeson thought to re-tell it, thirty-five years after they first met.
“I never knew that. You’ve never told me that before – it’s amazing.”
And as for Mirren revealing her true feelings for him? Well, the Taken star said he had an idea when she felt the same way.
“Before I met her and we worked together, I had read somewhere that if she fancied a guy she would imitate his walk behind his back,” he explained. “I turned around one day and she was doing that to me.”
Mirren explained the parted on good terms, though the relationship became strained as she rose to career success and Neeson struggled.
“[It was time for him to] to come out from under my wing. He handled it with great elegance and grace. We loved each other. It was difficult to let go,” she said in a profile in 1994.
Neeson went on to marry Natasha Richardson in 1994 until her unexpected, tragic death in 2009 after a skiing accident and Mirren has been married to director Taylor Hackford since 1997.
