Ray Liotta has passed away at 67. According to Deadline, the Goodfellas actor died in his sleep. He was in the Dominican Republic where he was filming Dangerous Waters, a movie co-starring Eric Dane, Saffron Burrows, and Odeya Rush.
Liotta broke out in the mid-’80s with Something Wild, his first major movie role—and second credit. In the film, he played the menacing, violent Ray Sinclair, husband to Melanie Griffith’s character, Audrey. The role was critically lauded, landing him a Golden Globe nomination. In the years following Something Wild, Liotta starred in what are arguably his most iconic roles: As disgraced MLB player Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams (1989) and Henry Hill in Goodfellas (1990). The latter film, during which Liotta as Hill narrates his time with the Lucchese crime family, marked his official breakout role.
Liotta was a mesmerizing performer, with piercing blue eyes. He often played tough guys and gangsters—and did it so well. Throughout the ’90s and 2000s, he starred in a string of crime dramas and action films, including Unforgettable, Cop Land, Phoenix, Blow, and Smokin’ Aces. During this time he also won an Emmy for his guest-starring role on ER as a dying alcoholic trying to reconcile with his estranged son during his final minutes.
Over the last few years Liotta enjoyed a bit of a career renaissance. The actor starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the NBC crime drama Shades of Blue. The Show ran for three seasons between 2016 and 2018. He also had a memorable supporting role in Noah Baumbach’s Oscar-winning film Marriage Story, as Jay Marotta, Adam Driver’s brash lawyer. Just last year, he was brilliant in his twin roles in The Many Saints of Newark, playing Hollywood Dick and Sally Moltisanti—father and uncle, respectively, to Alessandro Nivola’s Dickie Moltisanti.
At the time of his passing, the actor had recently completed several projects. They include Elizabeth Banks’ Cocaine Bear, and the Apple TV+ series Black Bird, which debuts later in 2022.
