The death of Ray Liotta shocked fans and colleagues alike as he unexpectedly died in the Dominican Republic while shooting a new film. Let’s take a look at what happened throughout his career after his star-making role on ‘GoodFellas’
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The actor takes on a critically acclaimed role based on real-life mobster Henry Hill
Martin Scorcese picked the New Jersey native to portray Henry Hill after Robert De Niro suggested the actor based on his role in Jonathan Demme’s 1986 film Something Wild. He reportedly read the book “Wiseguy”, a novel about Hill’s life in the mafia, a few years prior to joining the film. Liotta told the Toronto Star at the time how the studio wanted a more ‘well-known actor’ to star in GoodFellas after producers considered Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Sean Penn, and Alec Baldwin for the role.
Hill praised Liotta for his portrayal and even called him after the film’s release. He said to Liotta: “Thanks for not making me look a scumbag!” while he was still in the U.S. government’s Witness Protection Program at the time. However, Joe Pesci took home the Academy Award for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his role as the ruthless Tommy DeVito which took away any type of Oscar hopes for the actor.
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What happened to his career after GoodFellas
Liotta starred in another film two years after ‘GoodFellas’, titled Unlawful Entry in 1992, and appeared in the 1996 film ‘No Escape’. He also received critical acclaim for his role in Cop Land and portrayed Frank Sinatra in the 1998 TV film The Rat Pack and was nominated for a Screen Actor’s Guild Award. In addition to many various roles in film and TV shows, Liotta earned more acclaim after taking on completely different roles in the video game industry.
In 2002, he starred as Tommy Vercetti in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Billy Handsome in Call of Duty: Black Opps II. Within the past decade, he appeared in The Place Beyond the Pines, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, Kill the Messenger, Marriage Story, and Hubie Halloween.
Ray Liotta was ready for his comeback prior to his death
The actor starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the television series Shades of Blue from 2016 to 2018 where she spoke highly of their bond after his death.
“Ray was my partner in crime on Shades of Blue. … The first thing that comes to mind is he was so kind to my children. Ray was the epitome of a tough guy who was all mushy on the inside … I guess that’s what made him such a compelling actor to watch. The original Goodfella. We shared some intense moments on set those three years!”
He had five more films that were scheduled to be released before his death but all will be released posthumously.