Hollywood stars are reacting to the sudden death of actor Ray Liotta, best known for his role in the ’90s film Goodfellas. It was reported recently that the actor died at the age of 67 while in the Dominican Republic filming a new movie. Liotta’s rep Jennifer Craig at Gersh first confirmed the sad news to The Hollywood Reporter. He had been working on the film Dangerous Waters.
The producers of Dangerous Waters spoke to THR in a statement, saying, “We were deeply saddened to learn of Ray’s passing, it’s a tremendous loss and our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, fiancé Jacy and daughter Karsen.”
Hollywood mourns Ray Liotta
Goodfellas co-star Robert De Niro spoke to THR, saying, “I was very saddened to learn of Ray’s passing. He is way too way young to have left us. May he Rest in Peace.” Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese also gave some words on the passing.
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“He was so uniquely gifted, so adventurous, so courageous as an actor. Playing Henry Hill in Good Fellas was a tall order, because the character had so many different facets, so many complicated layers, and Ray was in almost every scene of a long, tough shoot. He absolutely amazed me, and I’ll always be proud of the work we did together on that picture. My heart goes out to his loved ones, and it aches for his loss, way too early.”
Liotta’s Goodfellas co-star Lorraine Bracco also tweeted that she was “utterly shattered” about the news and says Liotta was the best part of the film. “I can be anywhere in the world & people will come up & tell me their favorite movie is ‘GoodFellas.’ Then they always ask what was the best part of making that movie. My response has always been the same…Ray Liotta.”
I am utterly shattered to hear this terrible news about my Ray.
I can be anywhere in the world & people will come up & tell me their favorite movie is Goodfellas. Then they always ask what was the best part of making that movie. My response has always been the same…Ray Liotta. pic.twitter.com/3gNjJFTAne— Lorraine Bracco (@Lorraine_Bracco) May 26, 2022
David Chase, who wrote and produced the 2021 Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark (in which we saw Liotta star) also paid respects. “I have been an admirer of Ray’s work since I saw him in ‘Something Wild,’ a movie he wrenched by the tail. I was so glad he worked on ‘The Many Saints of Newark.’ I believed strongly in my heart that he could play that double role. He created two distinctly separate characters and each performance was phenomenal,” he said. “Ray was also a very warm and humorous person. A really superior actor. We all felt we lucked out having him on that movie.”
We also saw Dominick and Eugene costar Jamie Lee Curtis share some thoughts, writing on Twitter, “Ray Liotta has died. His work as an actor showed his complexity as a human being. A gentle man. So sad to hear.”
https://twitter.com/jamieleecurtis/status/1529865195555737605
Rest in peace to one of the greats.
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