More than just ‘Goodfellas,’ Ray Liotta found range. Here are our favorite roles
Ray Liotta, who died overnight Thursday while filming in the Dominican Republic, will always be associated with his role in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 mob masterpiece “Goodfellas” (streaming on HBO Max). But even within that one part, the actor showed incredible range. As Henry Hill, who goes from cocky young street hood to a solid earner to a federal witness, Liotta had the underlying menace that would define his screen persona, but he also brought a tenderness and fragility — a lost, searching quality that made the character sympathetic even as his actions were often reprehensible.
After spending time as a soap opera actor on TV, Liotta first came to moviegoers’ attention in Jonathan Demme’s 1986 film “Something Wild,” which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Liotta arrives partway through the movie and completely changes its center of gravity, forcing a
