The movie Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorcese, is one of the most well-known mobster movies of the late 1900s. Its success comes from many different aspects, but one key focus is on the acting. The three main characters have phenomenal actors in their roles. The first of which is known as Henry Hill who is played by Ray Liotta. Liotta does the voice over commentary and narration of the story. Scorcese must have most likely fallen in love with his voice, and thought it would be perfect in this situation. Liotta had also been in several other movies that dealt with drugs, guns, and crime, and has continued to do so in such films as Blow (2001), Slow Burn (2005), and Smokin' Aces (2006). The second and third men are Jimmy Conway played by Robery DeNiro, and Tommy DeVito played by Joe Pesci. What is very interesting and probably a big reason that everyone in this film worked so well together is that besides Liotta, the other two had already worked together in the past, and had even worked with Scorcese several times. This movie was a follow up to Mean Streets, which was a movie that DeNiro also played a part in, and was also a gangster type of movie. Also, it came out during the same time as Godfather Part III, so it was during a time when people were very appreciative of this genre of movie, and in addition, DeNiro was even in Godfather Part II. The Godfather movies were not directed by Scorcese, but he did direct some other notable movies. This included Raging Bull (1980), in which both DeNiro and Pesci played large roles, Death Collector (1976), a mafia movie in which Pesci starred (According to Filmsite.org, Pesci's specialty was gangster related roles, and his strong voice which involves a lot of swearing was perfect for the role in Goodfellas), A Bronx Tale (1993), and Scorcese's Casino (1995), both gangster/mobster movies in which DeNiro and Pesci were key actors. It is safe to say that these two actors had some experience with Scorcese, and Liotta was just another added piece to the puzzle that made this an even better acting performance for the movie.
DeNiro was nominated for best actor, and Pesci received the Oscar for best supporting actor. I would say that these actors are often stereotyped for the roles they are playing in all of these gangster movies and such, at least DeNiro and Pesci, and so they should be. They have had many wonderful performances throughout their careers. However, all three actors have also been in comedies, dramas, and a few other types of movies, which most people might not know about. The only problem is that they don't really perform the same way in these that they do in these stereotypical roles, and that is because they sort of are stereotyped, but that is okay because I would rather have them be acting in great movies rather than not spending much time on movies that don't have as much impact. These three actors, especially with the previous relations, must have gotten along really well on, and off the set and really got into the heart of their roles created by Scorcese because their acting was what made this movie so significant.
