‘Goodfellas’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

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'Goodfellas' Cast: Where Are They Now?

Part of the gang. Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro and more made the mob scene come to life in Martin Scorsese's iconic crime drama Goodfellas. The 1990 movie was adapted from Nicholas Pileggi's nonfiction book Wiseguy, which initially served as the title of the film. The writer collaborated with Scorsese on the flick, helping the actors get deep into their gangster characters. When Goodfellas debuted at the 47th Venice International Film Festival, Scorsese won the Silver Lion for Best Director. The movie was a hit among both viewers and critics, nabbing six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Despite being entered in multiple categories, Joe Pesci was the only nominee who walked away with an Academy Award that year, winning Best Supporting Actor. [jwplayer HC8q4egi-zhNYySv2] As the movie marked its 30th anniversary in 2020, Liotta, De Niro and more of the cast sat down for an in-depth look back at the film's success. "I never played anything like this, that kind of a lethal character and three days before we were about to shoot, I called my manager and said 'Get me out,' I had no idea what to do," Paul Sorvino recalled during the Goodfellas: Behind Closed Doors special with host Natalie Morales. A decade prior, Liotta told GQ, "For 20 years now, there's not a day that goes by that I don't hear somebody mention Goodfellas. Unless I stay home all night. It's defined who I am, in a sense." Costar Michael Imperioli credited the mob movie with launching his path to stardom. "I don't know if I would have had the same career had I not done Goodfellas," he told the same outlet in 2010. "Probably not. Would I have been cast on The Sopranos? Who knows if there would have been a Sopranos?" Fans aren't the only ones who return to Goodfellas again and again — even De Niro has rewatched the movie. The Golden Globe winner revealed during a 2013 press conference that the 1990 film helped him prepare for his role in The Family, in which he portrayed a retired mobster in the Witness Protection Program. "I rewatched it and looked at the DVD and there was a lot of stuff I had not seen, interviews with Henry Hill and other characters," De Niro said at the time, per Collider, adding that he "wanted to make sure it was accurate" to real-life experiences. The Godfather star went on to note that The Family earned praise from Scorsese, teasing, "Marty told me he liked the movie, he told me he liked it a lot. I don't know if he saw it with an audience or not but I know him well enough to know he was telling me the truth." Scroll down to see where the cast of Goodfellas is today: [podcast_block]

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Ray Liotta (Henry Hill)

One year before Goodfellas, the New Jersey native starred as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams. He is also known for his work in Unlawful Entry, Hannibal, Observe and Report, The Place Beyond the Pines and Marriage Story. From 2016 to 2018, the Golden Globe nominee teamed up with Jennifer Lopez on the NBC drama Shades of Blue. Liotta died in May 2022 at the age of 67, and is survived by daughter Karsen and fiancée Jacy Nittolo.

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Robert De Niro (Jimmy Conway)

The New Yorker frequently collaborated with Scorsese both before and after Goodfellas on films including Taxi Driver and The Irishman. Throughout his career, De Niro has won two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe, later being honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, a Kennedy Center Honor and the Cecil B. DeMille Award. The Meet the Fockers star is the father of six children and has been married twice, first to Diahnne Abbott from 1976 to 1988. He wed Grace Hightower in 1997, splitting two years later, but the pair renewed their vows in 2004. They separated again in 2018.

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Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito)

Pesci's Goodfellas performance earned him the Oscar for best supporting actor, and he went on to score two more nominations in the same category for Raging Bull and The Irishman. Along with his dramatic work, the New Jersey native is celebrated for his comedic timing in films like My Cousin Vinny and the Home Alone franchise. He has recorded three albums and announced his retirement from acting in 1999. (Pesci has starred in several movies since then.) He shares a daughter with his first ex-wife, getting married and divorce twice more before his engagement to Angie Everhart in 2007. They split one year later. 

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Paul Sorvino (Paulie Cicero)

Along with Goodfellas, the Brooklyn native is known for playing NYPD Sergeant Phil Cerreta on the TV series Law & Order. He welcomed three children in his marriage to now-ex Lorraine Davis, including actress Mira Sorvino. After splitting from Davis in 1988, Paul was married to Vanessa Arico from 1991 to 1996 and wed Dee Dee Benkie in 2014.

The Godfather of Harlem alum died of "natural causes" on July 25, 2022, per a press release obtained by Us Weekly. He was 83 years old.

“Our hearts are broken, there will never be another Paul Sorvino, he was the love of my life and one of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen and stage,” Dee Dee told Us in a statement.

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Lorraine Bracco (Karen Hill)

The Sopranos alum has been nominated for an Academy Award, four Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and three SAG Awards since kickstarting her career in the '80s. From 2017 to 2018, she starred on CBS' Blue Bloods after her seven-season stretch as Angela Rizzoli on TNT's Rizzoli & Isles. Bracco shares daughters Margaux and Stella with ex-husband Daniel Guerard and former partner Harvey Keitel, respectively. She split from second husband Edward James Olmos in 2002 after nearly 10 years of marriage.

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Debi Mazar (Sandy)

Madonna's BFF is also known for her work in Entourage, Civil Wars, L.A. Law and Younger. From 2011 to 2015, she starred alongside her husband, Gabriele Corcos, on the Cooking Channel's Extra Virgin. The couple wed in 2002 in a ceremony officiated by actress Ellen Burstyn. Mazar and Corcos share two daughters: Giulia and Evelina. 

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Samuel L. Jackson (Stacks Edwards)

The Hollywood icon has starred in a wide range of memorable movies, including True Romance, Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, Do the Right Thing, Snakes on a Plane, The Incredibles and the Star Wars prequel trilogy. He joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Nick Fury in 2008's Iron Man and appeared as the same character in the series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Jackson received an Honorary Governors Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in March 2022. The Django Unchained star has been married to LaTanya Richardson Jackson, with whom he shares daughter Zoe, since 1980.

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Michael Imperioli (Spider)

The New Yorker joined Goodfellas costar Bracco on The Sopranos, winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Christopher Moltisanti. Imperioli has also starred in Bad Boys, Shark Tale and The Lovely Bones and has become a successful screenwriter. The Jungle Fever actor shares three children with wife Victoria Chlebowski.

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Frank Vincent (Billy Batts)

Often seen playing a mobster, Vincent also worked with Scorsese on Casino and Raging Bull. Like many of his Goodfellas costars, the Massachusetts native made an appearance on HBO's The Sopranos. The actor died in September 2017 at the age of 80.

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Tony Sirico (Tony Stacks)

Like Vincent, Sirico was best known for playing gangsters in films including Defiance, Love and Money and Mob Queen. After Goodfellas, he reunited with several of his costars in The Sopranos, appearing as Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri throughout the show's run from 1999 to 2007. His other TV credits include Chuck, Lilyhammer and Nicky Deuce. Sirico died at age 79 in July 2022.