Liotta was working on a project in the Dominican Republic and died while sleeping, her publicist told CNN on Thursday. He was 67 years old.
His role as Henry Hill’s real-life mobster in “Goodfellas” was one of his most famous. The film’s director, Martin Scorsese, told People in a statement that he was “absolutely shocked and devastated by the sudden and unexpected death of Ray Liotta.”
“He had an exceptional talent, so adventurous, so brave as an actor. Playing Henry Hill in ‘Goodfellas’ was very complicated, because the character had so many different facets, so many complicated layers and Ray was in almost every scene in a shoot. long and hard, “the statement said. “I was absolutely amazed, and I will always be proud of the work we did together in this image. My heart is with your loved ones and you mourn your loss, too soon.”
Co-star Robert De Niro said: “It saddened me to hear of Ray’s death. He’s too young to leave us.”
Lorraine Bracco played Hill’s wife in the film and on Thursday tweeted that she was “completely devastated to hear this terrible news about my Ray.”
“I can be anywhere in the world and people will come and tell me that their favorite movie is Goodfellas,” he wrote. “Then they always ask me what was the best part about making that movie. My answer has always been the same … Ray Liotta.”
Another “Goodfellas” co-star, Debi Mazar, wrote on Instagram: “Goodbye Ray. Thank you for the memories, your generosity at work, your wicked sense of humor, your raw, lacerated look. to have ‘Dominick & Eugene.’
“Devastated to hear the news of Ray Liotta’s death. Although it leaves an incredible legacy, it will always be ‘Shoeless Joe Jackson’ in my heart,” Costner wrote along with a clip of the two of them in the film. “What happened at that point in the movie was real. God gave us that stunt. Now God has Ray.”
Her “Shades of Blue” co-star Jennifer Lopez tweeted that Liotta was “the epitome of a tough guy who was all wet inside.”
“We shared intense moments on set these three years!” she wrote. “When I first heard him take on the job at Shades of Blue, I was thrilled, and the first time we went on set to do our first scene together there was an electric spark and mutual respect and all we both knew it would be good.