Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese wrote a heartfelt tribute to Ray Liotta after the actor’s death

On May 26, Ray Liotta passed away at the age of 67, with celebrities such as Seth Rogen and Jamie Lee Curtis paying their respects shortly thereafter. Days after his death, Liotta’s girlfriend Jacy Nittolo took to social media to honor the man she intended to marry, calling him “the most beautiful person inside and out” she’d ever met. Now Martin Scorsese, who ran Liotta in the 90s good guysHe wrote his heartfelt tribute to the actor.

While Ray Liotta has amassed an impressive amount of film and television work in his more than 40 years in business, from his time in field of dreams with Kevin Costner to star opposite Jennifer Lopez on the NBC series shades of bluehe was probably best known for playing Henry Hill good guys, played by Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. In an opinion piece he wrote for The GuardianMartin Scorsese told the story of Liotta’s choice to play good guys, noting that the role required someone who could be “disarming”, “dangerous” and “vulnerable”. Looking back, Scorsese realized that he wanted Liotta to play Henry after meeting him at the world premiere of The Last Temptation of Christ in Venice, and the director continued to congratulate the late actor:

Based on the non-fiction book. smart guy by Nicolas Pileggi, good guys (which Pileggi co-wrote with Martin Scorsese) chronicles Henry Hill’s rise and fall through organized crime, but with some of the creative flourishes that come with Hollywood adaptations. In addition to the kind words above, Scorsese also shared an anecdote illustrating Liotta’s work ethic. The day he, Pesci, Robert De Niro and Paul Sorvino filmed the scene where Henry, Jimmy and Tommy hand Paulie the money from the Air France heist, Liotta learned that her mother was dying of cancer. . Scorsese urged the actor to visit his mother, but Liotta insisted that he do that specific scene first, and given the euphoria the actors had to express, ultimately there was “laughter and tears, tears. and laughter. ”

Ray Liotta reportedly died in his sleep in a shooting in the Dominican Republic. Dangerous waters; the cause of death has not yet been disclosed. Now that Liotta is gone, Martin Scorsese regrets not having worked with him since good guysEven if it wasn’t for lack of trying. He explained:

Indeed, it’s a shame that Ray Liotta and Martin Scorsese never collaborated again, but thankfully their only project together is still considered a cinematic triumph more than 30 years later, with good guysnumerous awards, including an Oscar (Joe Pesci for Best Supporting Actor) and a nomination in five other categories. Even if Liotta is no longer with us, with the aforementioned Dangerous watersher upcoming posthumous releases include Elizabeth Banks’ “Madness” drinking cocainer and the untitled film Charlie Day. Scorsese’s next film, Moonflower assassinsIt will be released in November.

We at Gossipify continue to extend our condolences to Ray Liotta’s family and friends at this difficult time.