Ray Liotta is best known for his intense, often violent performances in films like
Goodfellas ,
Something Wild and
Unlawful Entry . However his career has spanned a wide variety of roles including a single father, a singing waiter in
Cabaret , a Green Beret delivering an elephant during the Vietnam War, and a security guard in a Muppet Movie.
First impressions are hard to shake though, and his debut in
Something Wild as violent ex-con Ray Sinclair scared the pants off audiences and established a tough-guy image that remains even now. What made the performance so effective was that he didn't just play him as another thug, he gave Sinclair a genuine boyish charm, but bubbling underneath was barely controlled violence that could explode any minute. It is this unnerving combination of sex-appeal and simmering volatility that gives his villains such a terrifying edge. "That element of danger - the idea that he could blow at any minute - is tremendously appealing"
Jonathan Kaplan, director of Unlawful Entry, US Magazine March 1996. "He had a talent for getting straight to the heart of working-class types or lowlifes - his own background was middle class, but he must have had an eye and ear for the toughs who dominated the school yards in New Jersey because he would start out in a performance at a depth other actors had to struggle to get to."
Harry Mastrogeorge (Ray's acting coach) American Film, May 1990 |
In fact he was so convincing that many in Hollywood thought he was a maniac in real life. "I would get on elevators and people would purposely get off. They would move to the other side of the elevator. People would stare at me with this combination of fear and dread in their eyes. It freaked me out." Playgirl Holiday 1992 But he insists it's all acting. "I've only been in one fight my entire life, and that occurred when I was in the seventh grade, a silly boys-establishing-their-turf kind of thing." Rolling Stone, November 1, 1990
Lorraine Bracco, his co-star in Goodfellas agrees. "Ray will stop at nothing, but [he] is such a loving and giving actor that I knew he would never really hurt me. He would call me at night after a particularly hard scene just to make sure I was okay. Not many actors are that supportive. Believe me, Ray is the type of guy who looks like a thug on the outside, but underneath he's all sweetness." Lorraine Bracco, Rolling Stone, November 1, 1990.
