Actor Ray Liotta, who starred in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, passed away in the Dominican Republic where he was shooting for his film Dangerous Waters, according to a report in Deadline. He was 67. Several other US publications have reported the news of Liotta’s death.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Scorsese said he is 'absolutely shocked and devastated by the sudden, unexpected death of Ray Liotta', "He was so uniquely gifted, so adventurous, so courageous as an actor. Playing Henry Hill in Goodfellas 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."Martin Scorsese about Ray Liotta, to PEOPLE
Lorraine Bracco, Liotta’s Goodfellas co-star, tweeted, “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.”
Filmmaker James Mangold expressed his grief at Liotta’s demise on social media, “Shocked and saddened to hear of Ray Liotta’s passing. Beyond the tough guy exterior and the tightly wound emotions of his signature characters, he was a sweet, playful and passionate collaborator and brilliant actor. RIP.” Mangold worked with Liotta in Identity and Cop Land.
"I can’t believe Ray Liotta has passed away. He was such a lovely, talented and hilarious person. Working with him was one of the great joys of my career and we made some of my favorite scenes I ever got to be in. A true legend of immense skill and grace," Seth Rogen wrote.
One of Liotta’s earliest roles was as Joey Perrini in Another World and he made his film debut with The Lonely Lady in 1983. His breakthrough role came with Scorsese’s Goodfellas wherein he plays a mobster, Henry Hill. The film was a critical and commercial success and shot Liotta to fame.
Liotta also played the role of a baseball player in Kevin Costner's Field of Dreams. Costner shared a clip from the film and wrote, "Devastated to hear the news of Ray Liotta's passing. While he leaves an incredible legacy, he'll always be 'Shoeless Joe Jackson' in my heart. What happened that moment in the film was real. God gave us that stunt. Now God has Ray."
Liotta also portrayed singer Frank Sinatra in the 1998 release The Rat Pack and appeared as Charlie Metcalf in ER in 2004. The actor earned a Screen Actors Guild award nomination for the former and won an Emmy for ‘Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series’ for the latter.
The actor also featured in Ridley Scott’s Hannibal, Joe Carnahan’s Smokin’ Aces, Jerry Seinfeld’s Bee Movie, the shows The Simpsons and Family Guy, and even narrated for the 2015 docuseries The Making of the Mob.
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