Liam Neeson starred in 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

Liam Neeson’s Star Wars role left a bigger impact on his son than either anticipated.

Duking an appearance on Friday night’s The Graham Norton Show, the actor, 68, and his son Micheál Richardson sat down to talk about their new film Made in Italy. During the interview, Richardson recalled seeing his father and his mother, Natasha Richardson, in films growing up.

“I watched all their movies, but I was kind of traumatizing at the age of five seeing my dad sliced in half by a lightsaber or blown up in an explosion, and also kissing somebody else,” Richardson, 25, admitted.

He added, “As a kid, I thought it was CGI or some Hollywood effect!”

Neeson starred as the Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. His character was killed at the end of the film.

The Taken star also revealed during the interview that his son had a “fascinating” reaction to meeting R2-D2 when he was 2-years-old while on the set of the 1999 film.

Liam Neeson in Star Wars Episode I. LUCASFILM/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK

“He had to get down from my arms, waddled over to this thing and started hugging it,” Neeson recalled. “He just knew it was cuddly, and comfortable and friendly.”

In March, Richardson told the U.K.’s The Times that he watches his late mother Natasha’s films to keep her memory alive. Natasha died in 2009 at the age of 45.

“It was so sudden,” the young actor said. “When it’s unexpected and it’s just a complete freak accident, it really sort of messes with your mind, whether you believe in fate or not.”

Liam Neeson (L ) and son Micheál Richardson. DAVID M. BENETT/GETTY

“It can send you for a bit of a head spin, and so you just latch on to the tiny little memories, whether it’s her laugh or her energy in the room or her cooking,” he added.

“I do have her films to go back and watch her in, which I’m incredibly grateful for.”

He previously told PEOPLE that his favorite movie of his mother’s was 1998’s Parent Trap “because I just see her so much as that person.”

“When you lose somebody so close to you, sometimes you just push it away and out of your head because the thought of them hurts,” Richardson said.

“But I found that’s an unhealthy thing to do. You have to remember them.”