Martin Scorsese, the world-renowned film director, who helmed one of Ray Liotta’s biggest films, Goodfellas, has reacted to the actor’s death at 67 in a heartfelt statement. As previously reported, Ray died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic on Thursday, where he had been filming his new movie, Dangerous Waters, alongside Saffron Burrows, Odeya Rush, and Eric Dane. And while dozens of celebrities have already paid tribute to the Emmy award winner, including his former co-star Robert De Niro, Martin has now issued some words of his own.
“I’m absolutely shocked and devastated by the sudden, unexpected death of Ray Liotta. He was so uniquely gifted, so adventurous, so courageous as an actor,” the 79-year-old wrote, via People. “Playing Henry Hill in Goodfellas was a tall order, because the character had so many different facets, so many complicated layers, and Ray was in almost every scene of a long, tough shoot. He absolutely amazed me, and I’ll always be proud of the work we did together on that picture. My heart goes out to his loved ones, and it aches for his loss, way too early.”
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Ray first landed his big break in 1986, when he starred in the comedy flick Something Wild and portrayed the character of Ray Sinclar. His performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination before he would sign on for 1988’s Dominick and Eugene, centered around the relationship between twins who share very different characters. By the ’90s, Ray was a household name, most notably starring as Henry Hill in Goodfellas and 1992’s Unlawful Entry with Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe.
In 2016, the No Sudden Move actor revealed how he had been approached to audition for 1989’s Batman, directed by Tim Burton, and starred a string of A-list celebs, including Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, and Kim Basinger — an opportunity he turned down because he found the film’s concept to be a “stupid idea.”
“When I did my first movie, Tim Burton was getting ready to do Batman and he was interested in me because he wanted it to be edgy and real,” he told The Irish News. “I thought, ‘Batman? That’s a stupid idea’, even though he had just done one of my favorite movies of all time, Beetlejuice. So yes, I regret not auditioning for that.'”
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In his final years, Ray continued to keep himself busy in Hollywood, having starred in the critically acclaimed 2019 flick Marriage Story, about a couple (played by Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver) whose relationship begins to fall apart. And before his death, the father-of-one had also recently wrapped production on yet another film, The Cocaine Bear, which is slated for a 2023 release.