Liam Neeson ‘Life’s Too Short’ Comedy Pitch Makes Ricky Gervais Squirm [VIDEO]

It's not easy to fluster Ricky Gervais, but Liam Neeson does just that in the pilot episode of the BBC2 comedy Life's Too Short.

Neeson plays himself in the episode, announcing to Gervais (joined by Steven Merchant and Life's too Short star Warwick Davis) that he wants to try his hand at stand-up comedy.

During the five-minute cameo, Neeson displays his hilarious comic ineptitude, insisting on bringing A.I.D.S., famine, and desperate prostitutes into an impromptu improv rehearsal.

At one point Neeson gets a genuine laugh -- when he says Steven Spieldberg probably cast him as the lead in Schindler's List because he's always making lists.

I said, Steven, I make lists all the time. And he said, 'That's exactly what I'm looking for.'

Neeson doesn't understand why the others find this funny.

Life's Too Short is a mockumentary series that follows Warwick Davis's many challenges as a little person in the entertainment industry. In the show, he is both an actor and an agent.

The show itself (which will air on HBO in the U.S. next year) has received lukewarm reviews, but everyone seems to agree that Neeson's cameo is meta-comic gold. Watch it here: (after the jump)