Ray Liotta
| Ray Liotta | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Liotta at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival |
|
| Born | December 18, 1954 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Miami |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Spouse(s) | Michelle Grace (1997 – 2004; divorced) |
| Children | Karsen Liotta |
Raymond Allen "Ray" Liotta (born December 18, 1954) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas (1990) and for his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams (1989). He has won an Emmy Award and been nominated for Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards. Liotta is also known for starring as the protagonist, Tommy Vercetti in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002), and as Billy Handsome, a playable character in the Black Ops 2 Zombies map, Mob of the Dead (2013).
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Liotta was born in Newark, New Jersey, and was adopted at the age of six months by Mary Liotta, an appointed township clerk, and Alfred Liotta, an auto parts store owner, personnel director, and the president of a local Democratic club.[1] Both of his parents unsuccessfully ran for local office.[2] Liotta's adoptive parents were of Italian and Scottish/Irish ancestry; his biological parents were not of Italian descent.[3][4][5][6] In 1973,[citation needed] Liotta graduated from Union High School in Union, New Jersey and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1992.[citation needed] Liotta studied acting at the University of Miami, where he performed at the university's Jerry Herman Ring Theatre.[citation needed]
[edit] Career
One of Liotta's earliest roles was as Joey Perrini on the soap opera Another World; he appeared on the show from 1978 to 1981. He infamously made his film debut sexually assaulting Pia Zadora with a garden hose in the cult classic The Lonely Lady. In 1987, he earned his first Golden Globe nomination[7] for his portrayal of volatile ex-con Ray Sinclair in Jonathan Demme's film Something Wild (1986). In 1989, he costarred, along with Kevin Costner, in the fantasy/drama film, Field of Dreams. Liotta portrayed Shoeless Joe Jackson, the ghost of the famed baseball player. In 1990, Liotta portrayed real-life mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's film Goodfellas. In 1992, he costarred, along with Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe, in the thriller Unlawful Entry as a psychopathic cop. He also had a leading role in the sci-fi/action film No Escape. Liotta would earn more critical praise for his turn in James Mangold's film Cop Land, starring alongside Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, and Harvey Keitel. In 1998, he received critical praise for his performance as the compulsive gambler but decent policeman Harry Collins, in the crime film, Phoenix.
In addition to his film roles, Liotta portrayed singer Frank Sinatra in the 1998 TV movie The Rat Pack (for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination) and provided the voice of Tommy Vercetti for the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. That same year he appeared as Det. Lt. Henry Oak in the Joe Carnahan-directed film Narc, receiving an Independent Spirit Award nomination and a Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards nomination for Best Supporting Male, a praised performance that many critics considered to be Liotta's career best. He then reunited with director James Mangold in 2003, alongside John Cusack and Alfred Molina, in the dark horror-thriller Identity, remembered for its unique and clever twist.[citation needed] He also narrated Inside the Mafia for the National Geographic Channel in 2005. Liotta had a memorable guest appearance that year on the television drama ER, playing Charlie Metcalf in the episode "Time of Death". The role earned him an Emmy for "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series". Liotta would later spoof himself and his Emmy win in Bee Movie. He starred in the 2006 CBS television series Smith, which was pulled from the schedule after only three episodes had aired. He later appeared in Smokin' Aces (reuniting with Narc director Joe Carnahan), portraying an FBI agent named Donald Carruthers in one of the lead roles. He appeared with John Travolta in the movie Wild Hogs and with Johnny Depp in the 2001 film Blow, portraying the father of drug dealer George Jung.
Liotta has appeared in Battle in Seattle as the city's mayor, and in Hero Wanted playing a detective alongside Cuba Gooding Jr.. He was also in Crossing Over, co-starring Harrison Ford. Liotta played Detective Harrison in the 2009 Jody Hill comedy Observe and Report as Seth Rogen's nemesis from the local police. In 2011, he starred in The Son of No One, opposite Channing Tatum and for the first time in his career, Al Pacino.
Liotta's recent movies include Date Night with Steve Carell, Charlie St. Cloud with Zac Efron, the independent drama Snowmen, and The River Sorrow, which stars Liotta as a detective alongside Christian Slater and Ving Rhames. In 2012, Liotta appeared in the hit Disney Channel comedy series Phineas & Ferb where he played the voice of himself in "What a Croc!"
[edit] Personal life
Liotta married actress Michelle Grace in February 1997; they had met at her ex-husband (Mark Grace)'s professional baseball game. The couple co-starred in The Rat Pack, in which Liotta played Frank Sinatra and Grace played Judith Campbell Exner. Their daughter, Karsen, was born in December 1998. The couple divorced in 2004. Liotta currently resides in Pacific Palisades, California.[citation needed]
A baseball pitcher bearing his name is currently in the Kansas City Royals system.[8]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978–1981 | Another World | Joey Perrini #2 | |
| 1980 | Hardhat and Legs | Family | CBS Television movie |
| 1983 | St. Elsewhere | Murray | Episode: "Rain" |
| 1983 | Casablanca | Sacha | |
| 1984 | Mike Hammer | Tony Cable | Episode: "Kill Devil" |
| 1985 | Our Family Honor | Officer Ed Santini | |
| 1990 | Women and Men: Stories of Seduction | Jerry Damon | HBO television movie |
| 1991 | Women & Men 2: In Love There Are No Rules | Martin Meadows | HBO television movie |
| 1995 | Frasier | Bob | Episode: "Frasier Grinch" |
| 1998 | The Rat Pack | Frank Sinatra | Television movie Nominated: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
| 2001 | Family Guy | Zack | Episode: "Brian Does Hollywood" |
| 2001–2002 | Just Shoot Me | Himself | Episode: "Christmas? Christmas!" Episode: Liotta? Liotta!" |
| 2002 | Point of Origin | John Leonard Orr/Aaron | HBO television movie |
| 2004 | ER | Charlie Metcalf | Episode: "Time of Death" Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor – Drama Series Prism Award for Best Performance in a Drama Series Episode |
| 2006–2007 | Smith | Bobby Stevens | |
| 2008 | SpongeBob SquarePants | Trevor (voice) | Guest appearance, Episode "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?" |
| 2010 | Hannah Montana Forever | Principal Luger | Guest appearance |
| 2011 | The League | Guest appearance | |
| 2012 | Phineas and Ferb | Himself | Guest appearance, Episode "What A Croc!" |
| 2012 | NTSF:SD:SUV:: | The Reader | Season 2, Episode 12: Wasilla Hills Cop |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | Tommy Vercetti | Voice Over G-Phoria Award for Best Male Voice Performance Spike Video Game Awards for Best Performance by a Human (2003) |
| 2013 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II | Billy Handsome | Uprising DLC, on the zombies map Mob of the Dead |
[edit] References
- ^ "Ray Liotta Biography (1955?-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- ^ "Ray Liotta". Movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- ^ http://articles.latimes.com/1990-09-16/entertainment/ca-1277_1_ray-liotta/2
- ^ Joan Tarshis and Richard Mclaren. "SMOKE 09/01 – Ray Liotta is praised as one of the best actors of all times. – One-on-one with Ray Liotta". Smokemag.com. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- ^ "Ray Liotta Is Glad He Met His Biological Mother – Starpulse Entertainment News Blog "he discovered he isn't Italian and that he has a half-brother."". Starpulse.com. October 6, 2006. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- ^ Keier, Helen (March 1, 2001). "IGN: Interview with Ray Liotta "I myself am adopted, so I'm not Italian"". IGN. Retrieved ) July 7, 2009.
- ^ "HFPA – Awards Search". 1.hfpa.org. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- ^ "Liotta one of the Sox Goodfellas". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved January 16, 2008.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ray Liotta |
|
||||||||
|
- 1954 births
- American adoptees
- American film actors
- American soap opera actors
- American television actors
- American voice actors
- Emmy Award winners
- Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute alumni
- Living people
- Actors from New Jersey
- People from Newark, New Jersey
- People from Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
- American people of Scottish descent
- University of Miami alumni
- 20th-century American actors
- 21st-century American actors
