34 years later, Ray Liotta’s greatest film continues to be typically thought of to be “Goodfellas,” the place he performs the amoral mob affiliate Henry Hill as his more and more darkish lifetime of crime unfolds. It is possible the function Liotta might be greatest remembered for; as he as soon as recalled in a Deadline interview, “‘Goodfellas,’ actually, it has been like 28, 30 years later and I’ve children coming as much as me as if the film had simply come out. These children who see it once they’re sufficiently old. That is simply unbelievable.”
Earlier than Liotta was forged as Henry Hill, nevertheless, one other actor practically bought the function: Alec Baldwin, who at that time had not but starred in “Glengarry Glen Ross” however had starred in Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice.” In a 2015 interview with Howard Stern, Baldwin defined how he had “went to Scorsese’s residence” to audition, did not get the half, and later talked to Liotta about it at a celebration. As Baldwin recalled:
“I stated to Ray, ‘You recognize Ray, a variety of instances guys get elements that I’m going up for and I do not get the half and I believe to myself — I believe I might have been higher in that half. However you are the one instance of somebody the place I’m going that is not true. Ray, nobody may have achieved that higher than you.’ And he reaches over and goes, ‘I agree.'”
Might Alec Baldwin have pulled off the function?
Perhaps it is simply because I’ve watched an excessive amount of “30 Rock” and “Saturday Evening Reside,” leaving me to affiliate Baldwin extra with comedies as an alternative of dramas, however I are inclined to agree that Liotta was a greater match for the function. A part of the enchantment of Henry Hill in “Goodfellas” is that Liotta offers him a likable attraction to distinction together with his horrible deeds; it is that push and pull between liking him and being appalled that makes the film so thrilling. Baldwin, in the meantime, not often performs likable guys; from “Glengarry Glen Ross” to “The Cat within the Hat,” he appears higher suited to portraying sleazy characters you like to hate, not characters you hate to like.
The excellent news for Baldwin is that lacking this function was hardly the top of his profession. The truth is, he is since gotten extra main roles than Liotta, and even hosted “Saturday Evening Reside” 16 extra instances. (Granted, there is a good probability Liotta simply wasn’t that into that type of factor.) Baldwin additionally bought his probability to star in a Scorsese film with “The Aviator” in 2004 after which once more with “The Departed” in 2006. Liotta, in the meantime, was oddly by no means forged in one other Scorsese movie after “Goodfellas.”
Baldwin working for Scorsese should’ve been a rewarding expertise for him, as he is had nothing however nice issues to say in regards to the director all through his profession. In a 2020 interview speaking about Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” Baldwin stated, “I used to be very emotional. I bought a tear in my eye on the finish. […] I watched the movie, and I assumed, ‘We’re by no means gonna see these guys do that once more. That is it.'”
Baldwin added, “Scorsese, in his documentary about American movie, says, ‘In case you keep in mind the plot of a film, it isn’t a terrific film. You keep in mind moments.’ And what number of moments can we keep in mind, these guys? You simply cry.”
