Ray Liotta had recently wrapped shooting Apple’s upcoming series Black Bird, his final completed television series, shortly before his death.
In a heartfelt remembrance Thursday, series creator Dennis Lehane fondly remembered Liotta as “the most electric American actor of his generation.” Lehane revealed that it “was the culmination of a lifelong dream” to work with Liotta and that he wrote the role of Big Jim Keene specifically for the Emmy-winning actor, describing his performance as a “master class.” Lehane also shares their funny and poignant interactions on set.
You can read his entire tribute below.The upcoming limited series, set for premiere July 8 on Apple TV+, marked Liotta’s return to series television as a lead opposite Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser.
An adaptation of James Keene and Hillel Levin’s true-crime memoir, In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption, the six-episode psychological thriller is developed and produced by Lehane.Liotta’s Big Jim Keene is a popular former ranking officer in the Kankakee police and fire departments who had influential friends in the highest reaches of state and local government.The logline: Inspired by actual events, when high school football hero, decorated policeman’s son, and convicted drug dealer Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum security prison, he is given the choice of a lifetime — enter a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser), or stay where he is and serve his full sentence with no possibility of parole.
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