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Ray Liotta Part Two

© Susan Duckett

His success in the Something Wild brought its own problem: stereotyping. He didn't work for a year and a half afterwards because every script he got was for a crazy bad guy. Finally something different came along in Dominick and Eugene, a tender story about a medical student trying to finish school while caring for his brain-damaged brother who supports him working as a garbage man. Producer Mike Farrell almost didn't give him the part when he saw Something Wild, but a face-to-face meeting reassured him that Ray was not a maniac in person. He got the part and was finally able to show a completely different side.

The climax scene where Eugene reveals a painful family secret is extraordinary. "The performance has to be like a tree getting split by lightening. For the actor to just be crying isn't enough; he must be destroyed in front of you. And Ray's face cracks down the middle and caves in." Robert M. Young (the director), Premiere Magazine March 1988.

THE PRICE OF FAME: "I was 22 and playing Joey Parinni on the soap opera Another World. You know those peep shows on 42nd Street in New York? Well, I went into one and I put a quarter into one of the booths. The curtain goes up and this naked girl starts dancing and looking at me. Then she calls a friend over and they're looking at me and she goes, "Oh my God, Joey!" she started asking about plot lines, but she had to keep dancing because the boss man was saying, "come on girls, keep moving." Movieline, 1998. While doing research for Unlawful Entry he did "ride-alongs" with cops on patrol. One night they were investigating a blown up building where detectives were searching for a missing body part (some kind of internal organ). One of the detectives at the scene recognized him from "Field of Dreams" and asks for his autograph. Another detective found the body part and came over wanting Ray's picture with him and the part.

Next came another nice guy role, a supporting part as the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson in the baseball movie Field of Dreams. The film was very successful and Rays career seemed to be on the right track.

But his image as a tough guy still hindered him and ironically almost cost him his next role as Mafia hood Henry Hill in Goodfellas. De Niro had seen him in Something Wild and recommended him for the part. But Martin Scorsese (the director) wasn't sure he wanted to work with that crazy guy. He was at the Venice Film Festival and saw Scorsese across the room. This was at the time "Last Temptation of Christ" was out and Scorsese had received death threats. So when Ray went over to talk to him, Scorsese's bodyguards grabbed him and told him to keep away. Scorsese expected him to react as the character in "Something Wild" would have, with anger and violence, but Ray just said "No, no, no, I just want to talk to him." Movieline, . His reaction convinced Scorsese he was someone he could work with and the lead in Goodfellas was his.

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