A star of Goodfellas praises Ray Liotta for helping them through the movie, 35 years after making the Martin Scorsese gangster classic. The Henry Hill actor was a relative unknown before taking the lead role in Scorsese’s 1990 mob movie comeback. But Liotta was no longer unknown after co-starring with the likes of Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, and remained a prolific character actor until his death in 2022.

It emerges now that Liotta not only excelled onscreen in Goodfellas, he also proved a behind-the-scenes mentor to his co-star Lorraine Bracco, who spoke recently about how he helped guide her through the shoot, and was particularly helpful as they executed the now-famous Copacabana one-sH๏τ (via Collider):

“I was clueless. Thank God for Ray Liotta, God bless his soul. He was my mentor in making Goodfellas. He would put me on my mark. You can see, he drags me through. I just followed Ray, really. And it’s true, it’s been one of the great steadicam sH๏τs in movie history, so I was lucky.”

What This Means For Goodfellas’ And Liotta’s Legacy

Liotta Helped Scorsese Pull Off The Movie’s Most Dazzling SH๏τ

There may be no more famous oner in movie history than Goodfellas’ iconic Copacabana tracking sH๏τ, in which the steadicam follows Liotta and Bracco from their arrival at the club, down into the bowels of the establishment, and up again to the main floor, where staff plop down a table for the well-connected Henry Hill and his very impressed date Karen.

Now it comes out that Liotta did more than just hit his own marks for that sH๏τ, he also made sure Bracco stayed on hers. By Bracco’s own admission, she was “clueless” while making Goodfellas, the first major movie in which she played a significant role. Liotta’s mentorship seems like it was invaluable to Bracco, who put in her own memorable performance as Karen Hill, Henry’s sometimes-combative but always-loyal spouse.

Our Take On Liotta Helping Bracco On Goodfellas

Her “Cluelessness” Actually Made The Copacabana SH๏τ Better

Karen is supposed to be utterly blown away by the experience of entering the exclusive Copacabana by the back way, and having staff plunk down an entire table for her and Henry, complete with lamp. It seems that Bracco’s dizzy reactions during the sH๏τ are not entirely due to acting. The actor may have been legitimately disoriented while making the incredibly complicated oner, but if so, it worked perfectly for the character at that moment.

If Liotta was almost literally dragging Bracco through the Copacabana sH๏τ, then that worked perfectly for the movie as well, as Karen had no idea where she was going, and had to trust Henry to guide her through the maze-like club interior, past characters busying themselves with the day-to-day of the venue, including the cook staff, whom Karen and Henry must weave through as they traverse the kitchen.

Liotta seems to have provided a guiding influence for Bracco through a lot of Goodfellas, contributing to the movie’s success with his mentorship as well as his acting, and helping his co-star nab one of the film’s six Oscar nominations (it famously lost Best Picture to Dances With Wolves, while Bracco lost Best Supporting Actress to Whoopi Goldberg).

Source: Collider