In stunning news that just came out of nowhere, Goodfellas and Field of Dreams actor Ray Liotta has died at the age of 67.
Liotta was always one of those actors who made every film he was in better. Of course, his biggest break would come as mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. He’s been associated with the mob drama ever since, including recently in The Many Saints of Newark.
However, Liotta’s career was so much deeper than that. He also played Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams, Ray Sinclair in 1986’s Something Wild, a role that earned him a Golden Globe nomination, Gary “Figgsy” Figgis in Cop Land. His resume was vast and he was seemingly most comfortable playing morally bankrupt men. I’ll never forget his performance in Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly as the doomed mobster Markie Trattman. He gave a powerhouse performance opposite Jason Patric in Joe Carnahan’s underrated 2002 film, Narc.
Liotta is going to be missed. He’s one of those actors who I think everyone appreciated, but he never got the accolades reserved for others.
We here at Punch Drunk Critics send our condolences to Liotta’s friends and family.
