Real ‘Goodfella’ on Ray Liotta: ‘Thanks for not making me look like a scumbag’
nypost.comRay Liotta got a call out of the blue: It was the man he portrayed in the film, mobster-turned-informant Henry Hill.Hill told the actor he would “love to sit down and talk with ya,” and the two agreed to meet at Jerry’s Deli in the Valley at the bowling alley, Liotta told The Post in 2020.“And the first thing he said was, ‘Thanks for not making me look like a scumbag!’ And I said, ‘Serious?
Did you see the movie? You cheated on your wife, you were dealing drugs when your crew told you not to.’ I wondered what made him think that he wasn’t.“It was an interesting perspective that people have of themselves.”The actor, who died Thursday at the age of 67, explained how he prepared for his most famous role.
First, he read the non-fiction book the film was based on, 1985’s “Wiseguy,” by Nicholas Pileggi, which focuses on Hill. Pileggi also co-wrote the movie’s screenplay with director Martin Scorsese.“When I got the role Marty took myself and Lorraine and Nick Pileggi, the writer, and the casting agent to Rao’s in Harlem.
And we sat and talked. I talked a lot with Nick Pileggi, and he gave me the tapes that he used for interviewing Henry for the book ‘Wiseguy,’” Liotta recalled.“I would take my mother’s car and listen to the cassette.
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