Actor Ray Liotta has died at the age of 67. It goes without saying that Liotta was a legend of the screen, with iconic roles across many films, TV shows, and even video games. Not that he’s gone, we’re celebrating the life and career of Ray Liotta, by looking back at some of his most memorable roles.
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There are obvious standouts like Goodfellas, or the more recent Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark, but once you really get into it, you come to realize just how much Ray Liotta truly influenced cinema and TV (and even gaming) during his career.
Let’s look back at some of the most memorable Ray Liotta roles:
Field of Dreams
Ray Liotta arguably got his first big breakout playing Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams (1989). Ironically enough, even this sports fantasy movie has mob ties, as Shoeless Joe Jackson was implicated in the infamous Black Sox Scandal, wherein members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of conspiring with organized crime to fix the 1919 World Series.
Goodfellas
Ray Liotta’s performance as infamous mobster-turned-FBI-informant Henry Hill arguably made his career. Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) remains THE definitive mob movie of modern times.
Unlawful Entry
Ray Liotta left the dramatic depth of Scorsese behind for soem more character actor work in the 1990s – and Unlawful Entry was definitely a notable stop. This slow-burn thriller starring Kurt Russell, Madeleine Stowe, and Liotta saw the latter play a cop who starts out helpful but slowly but surely turns out to be an obsessive psycho. Liotta began to exhibit the unique ability to be both charming and terrifying, all within the space of a scene.
Turbulence
The epitome of 1990s B-movie action-thrillers, Turbulence (1997) really saw Liotta full-on leaning into a scene-chewing, over-the-top, psycho persona that would fuel his career for many years thereafter.
Cop Land
James Mangold’s criminally slept-on 1997 cop drama brought Ray Liotta together with an ensemble that included Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Frank Vincent, Edie Falco, Harvey Keitel, Peter Berg, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Noah Emmerich, Annabella Sciorra, Janeane Garofalo, and John Spencer – and still saw him stand out as a performer. Liotta got to play on his Goodfellas fame by playing a corrupt cop that defects from the gang and gets a target on his back as a result.
The Rat Pack
This Emmy-winning 1998 TV movie biopic had Ray Liotta play Frank Sinatra. That casting alongside Don Cheadle’s Sammy Davis Jr. and Joe Mantegna’s Dean Martin remains one of the definitive onscreen depictions of the legendary performance group.
Hannibal
Ray Liotta jumped into the Silence of the Lambs franchise for the 2001 sequel Hannibal. The climatic scene of his loathsome Deputy Assistant A.G. Paul Krendler having his skull sawed open and his living brain dissected, cooked, and served to him by Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) is still some of the biggest nightmare fuel a movie has provided.
Narc
Ray Liotta helped Joe Carnahan make his way as a filmmaker by starring his indie cop drama mystery (for almost no money). Liotta once again pulled on his onscreen persona to play a hard-edged cop that bent the rules, but his performance really rekindled interest and respect for him as a serious performer.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Ray Liotta arguably catapulted celebrity voice acting in video games to a whole other level when he took on the lead role of Tommy Vercetti in the 2002 mega-hit game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Liotta’s voice work as a would-be crimelord in 1980s Miami (or “Vice City”) drew upon his obvious mob role associations and his over-the-top character actor work to make Tommy Vercetti one of the most iconic protagonists in gaming.
Identity
This 2000s murder mystery thriller is another James Mangold cult-classic (Liotta clearly recognized the director’s talent before others would). The film saw Ray Liotta once again shine in an all-star ensemble that included John Cusack, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes, Alfred Molina, Clea DuVall, John C. McGinley, Jake Busey, and Rebecca De Mornay. The high-concept premise was flimsy, but playing an escaped convict pretending to be a cop was classic Liotta.
Muppets Most Wanted
It wasn’t Ray Liotta’s first Muppet movie, but it definitely was the one that got the most out of having him. His “Big Papa” was the Muppet version of classic Liotta, in hilarious ensemble that was also a familiar fit for the actor.
Bee Movie
Ray Liotta as an animated Ray Liotta who is running a shady honey operation? It was as meta and hilarious as so many other parts Bee Movie, but Liotta’s presence and persona really put the film over the top. His scenes with Jerry Seinfeld are classic.
Shades of Blue
Ray Liotta got a whole new era of visibilty and street cred starring opposite Jennifer Lopez in her big TV police procedural debut. The show was about moral comprise within law enforcement, which mean it needed an actor like Liotta to really anchor it.
The Many Saints of Newark
Ray Liotta’s career brought him full-circle, as he followed Goodfellas co-star Lorraine Bracco (and others) into David Chase’s Sopranos franchise, THE modrn great for the mob genre. Liotta starred in The Sopranos prequel film The Many Saints of Newark, in which he played the dual roles of twin brother gangsters “Hollywood Dick” Moltisanti and Salvatore “Sally” Moltisanti. The two personas were very different (flash party guy and stoic mechanical sociopath) but both were right in that Ray Liotta wheelhouse fans loved.
