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But the actual acting part: About that, Liotta didnt have much to say.
you might see the tendency inone of his earliest promotional interviews,for 1986sSomethingWild.
Liotta counters, You know, you cant go into anything thinking youre gonna play a bad guy.
But he wasnt fussy or self-regarding.
He made you believe everything he did, no matter how absurd it might have seemed on paper.
He got hired as a supporting player before, during, and after that brief golden window.
Even when the material let Liotta down, he never let the audience down.
Even when the movies put Liotta in a suit, he never seemed glamorous or dreamy.
He was that character, in a suit.
But he was beautiful.
The beauty came from the laser-focused artistry he brought to every assignment, no matter how noble or absurd.
He wasnt a talker or a thinker.
He was a doer.
His lineage was listed as half Italian, half Irish, just like Henry Hills inGoodfellas.
But those were the ethnicities of his adoptive parents.
He never actually knew what he was.
They were blue-collar guys.
I interviewed Liotta eight times over the course of his career.
He was always blunt, unpretentious, and bereft of political or intellectual banter.
But perhaps he never wanted to.
Our interview occurred in the lobby of a bed-and-breakfast where Liotta was staying.
The character was written a particular way in the script, and I tried to shape him from there.
If you think I was inspired by a particular character or actor, just say it.
Phrase it as a question and come right out with it.
Dont wait for me to say it.
I was 25 at the time, Liotta 39.
I felt as if Id been reprimanded by a big brother or an uncle.
You wanna know me?
Walk around in my skin for 38 years.
Then youre qualified to say shit.
I dont have any illusions about it.
It is what it is, you know?
That feeling you get when everything clicks.
Nonetheless, I tried one more time to get him to follow me into the weeds of process talk.
I just mean Ive never been good at describing how it happens, whatever the thing is.
The closest thing I have, probably, is taking acting classes.
Sure, why not?
Maybe the secret to Liottas greatness was that he didnt have a secret.
Whatever he did, it worked for him and it was great for the audience.
And now its all over.
