RAY LIOTTA CHANNELED THIS HORRIFIC REAL-LIFE TRAGEDY INTO HIS GOODFELLAS PERFORMANCE
By REMY MILLISKY
History - Science
One of Ray Liotta's most notable achievements across his decades-long career was his role in "Goodfellas," as gangster Henry Hill. When discussing the mob movie in a 2021 interview with "Today," Liotta detailed the family event that changed the course of "Goodfellas."
Liotta had been adopted as a newborn and was raised in Union, New Jersey by two loving parents. Liotta noted, "My mom was sick with cancer during the filming of 'Goodfellas,' and she passed away in the middle of it. It put things in perspective in a really deep way." The actor was filming a scene on a Friday when he learned his mother wasn't doing well.
Liotta said that he finished filming and "went back that night. And luckily I was there when she passed, she was literally in my arms." In a separate interview, Liotta stated that for a scene, "I had to go across the street and pistol-whip a guy, and I just remember thinking about my mother. It really made me angry. I brought outside stuff in and personalized it there."
Liotta also said that because he used to do method acting, he tended to carry the characters in his mind even when he was away from the set. Even when his mother was dying, he always wanted to give his all to every film shoot, making sure to memorize all his lines, as, according to him, "I still have that discipline, because I still feel like I haven't made it."