For a person who nailed it in nearly every single one of his movies, especially his action/adventure sequences, the late Ray Liotta was one of those remarkable celebs who passed away far too soon. A legendary hero renowned for his outstanding on-screen portrayals, the Cop Land star had set up a whole new level of perfection in acting, with the Martin Scorsese-directed $47 million movie Goodfellas being one of his best big-screen performances to date.
what’s interesting was how he got cast into it, as revealed by Scorsese a little time after his demise.
Martin Scorsese Knew He Wanted Ray Liotta To Star In His Film After Their Brief Yet Strange Encounter
Though Ray Liotta performed his utter best in the Martin Scorsese-directed movie Goodfellas, it would come as a shock to most fans how he was never the first choice for the $47 million film. Rather, it was the brief yet strange encounter between the duo that made the director realize that the late star would be the perfect choice for the Robert De Niro starrer movie.
This fateful encounter took place at the Venice Film Festival in 1988 where Liotta was one of the attendees of the event. The Shutter Island director recalled the unintentional rendezvous, saying,
“When The Last Temptation of Christ had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, I was crossing the lobby of the Excelsior Hotel on my way to an interview. Ray and I saw each other from across the lobby, and he headed toward me to say hello and check in with me. He came near and then he hit a wall of security.”
It was his reaction to this situation that left Scorsese amazed and wanted him to star in the lead role in his 1990 blockbuster. He continued, saying,
“Instead of throwing a fit and demanding that he be allowed through, he reacted quietly and calmly, observed the rules, and patiently defused the situation. He looked at me, I looked at him, and we signaled that we would talk, and he walked away. I watched it all very closely, and I saw him handle the situation with quiet authority and a real elegance. Actually, that was just what the role needed. When I look back on it, I believe that was the moment when I knew I wanted Ray to play Henry Hill.”
Thus it was decided and Ray Liotta ended up bagging the role of Henry Hill, portraying him with the utmost perfection and making the movie a remarkable piece that would be widely remembered by fans in the following years.
Ray Liotta Set A Whole New Level Of Competition After His Remarkable Performance In Goodfellas (1990)
If you’ve seen Goodfellas, you’ll know what a tremendous blockbuster it was. Starring Ray Liotta as the male protagonist Henry Hill, the movie showcased just how terrifying and tragic yet hilarious and everything in between could the actor be.
Backing up this claim is the fact that the movie went on to get nominated and even win an Oscar among several other awards, with a total of a whopping 44 wins and 38 nominations. In fact, his portrayal of the gangster was so epically perfect that now fans just can’t imagine anyone else in the role of Hill in the 1990 classic except him! Not just this, the movie is also approved with a rating of 96% from Rotten Tomatoes.
You can watch Goodfellas on Disney+.
Source: The Guardian
