Ray Liotta tragically died aged just 67, and now details of his passing have been shared.
The heart-breaking news hit the headlines on Thursday…
The star was best known for playing Henry Hill in the hit 1990 gangster film Goodfellas.
However, Liotta also appeared in the 1989 film Field of Dreams, playing dead baseball player, shoeless Joe Jackson, who came back to life for one more game.
Director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro, who both worked alongside Liotta have shared their tribute to the star…
Scorsese called Liotta a “courageous” actor, stating that he was “uniquely gifted.”
Scorsese said he was “absolutely shocked and devastated” by the tragic news, and that Liotta was amazing to work with.
“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 explained.
“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.”
De Niro also said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter: “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.”
Jennifer Lopez, who co-stared with Liotta in Shades of Blue, called him her “partner in crime” in a tribute on Twitter.
“The first thing that comes to mind is he so was kind to my children,” she tweeted. “Ray was the epitome of a tough guy who was all mushy on the inside… I guess that’s what made him such a compelling actor to watch.”
“So very sad to hear of Ray Liotta’s passing,” he wrote. “I got to work with him on the ‘Bloodstream’ music video with Emil Nava, and got hung out with him at gigs.
“He was such a fun guy, so so sweet, and I loved being around him. Goodfellas will always be my favorite movie. Will raise a toast tonight for him.”
As the tributes kept rolling in for the star, actor Seth Rogen
labeled Liotta as 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,” Rogen tweeted about his time working with Liotta for Observe and Report in 2009.
As well as his co-stars, fans of Liotta also wrote their tributes to the actor on Twitter, with many sharing their favorite roles he’s played.
One fan wrote: “Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco will forever enter through the kitchen in ‘The Copa Shot.’ One of cinema’s touchstone moments for its technical achievement in serving as the magic doorway into Henry Hill’s exclusive world. Scorsese has the couple walk in a circle to achieve depth.”
Referring to one of Liotta’s incredible character moments, one fan wrote:
“RIP Ray Liotta, I’m still waiting to find that one special woman that I love so much I beat the shit out of her creepy neighbor with the butt of my gun and ask her to hold it for me in a gesture that would bond us romantically and signal her implicit approval of my life of crime.”
Another fan shared a memory of the time they met the actor in a coffee shop, calling him an “icon.”
“Once saw Ray Liotta at a coffee shop with Damien Chazelle, loudly hyping up Chazelle to the strangers at the other tables ‘You see this guy? You know who he is? Go watch Whiplash! Brilliant director! I’m gonna do a movie with him!’
“A stoked icon. RIP.”
And it’s not just Liotta’s movies that have stayed in people’s heads, it’s his lines too…
“Ray Liotta’s delivery of, ‘How could I go to school after that and pledge allegiance to the flag and sit through good government bullsh*t?’ has been burned into my brain for most of my life,” another fan tweeted.
“Nobody actually wanted to be a gangster. Everyone just wanted to be Ray Liotta,” another wrote.
We couldn’t agree more!
It’s easy to see why so many loved the talented actor, who shot to fame after his first role, playing Ray Sinclair in the dark comedy Something Wild back in 1986.
Liotta was nominated for a Golden Globe shortly after the movie came out for his performance as the ex-convict.
His success only boomed from then on, getting his next role in the 1988 film Dominick and Eugene.
His most recent works, however, include the critically acclaimed film Marriage Story, in which he played a lawyer for Adam Driver’s character, which came out in 2019.
Liotta also appeared in The Many Saints of Newark in 2021, which was a prequel to the crime drama series The Sopranos.
He had recently finished working on The Cocaine Bear, a new film directed by Elizabeth Banks with is set to come out in 2023.
He reportedly passed away in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting a movie called Dangerous Waters.
His fiancé Jacy Nittolo was also on the set of the movie when he died.
TMZ learned he passed away in his sleep, and there was nothing suspicious about the death.
Rest in peace, Ray Liotta.
