Goodfellas Star Ray Liotta Was Nearly Batman
Earlier today, news broke that legendary actor Ray Liotta had passed away at the age of 67.
Liotta found originally fame playing Ray Sinclair in 1986 film Something Wild, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.
He went on to star as Shoeless Joe Jackson in the 1989 film Field Of Dreams and is best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese.
However, there was one big role Liotta did wish he had taken instead of rejecting.
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He once turned down the opportunity to audition for the role of Batman, a decision he later admitted to regretting.
He was once a frontrunner for Tim Burton's production of Batman, but the actor turned down the audition as he thought it was 'stupid'.
In a 2016 interview with Liotta Irish News, he said: "When I did my first movie, Tim Burton was getting ready to do Batman and he was interested in me because he wanted it to be edgy and real.” Liotta who had just finished Something Wild did not believe the comic book movies would be so big.
Burton is said to have approached Liotta's team to try and get the actor on board, believing the actor had established a reputation for playing intimidating and passionate characters.
He added: "I thought, ‘Batman? That’s a stupid idea’, even though he’d had just done one of my favourite movies of all time, Beetlejuice. So yes, I regret not auditioning for that.”
Had he pursued the opportunity, Liotta would have joined the Batman hall of fame alongside actors, Adam West, Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and most recently Robert Pattinson.
Liotta's decision is one of his biggest regrets, believing that the role of Batman could have contributed to a more successful career. He said: "My career could’ve taken off in a different kind of way!"
In another interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2016, Liotta shared his regret again saying: "At that time — it was 1986 or 87 — it was really the first comic book movie that I know of that was coming out. And I always regret it, because I think Tim Burton is such a great, great director, and I’ve always regretted not going to meet him. Just to meet him, just to talk, — whether I agreed with playing it — because I couldn’t wrap my head around and understand. To play Batman, that seemed silly. So, I regret that, that I didn’t go out and meet him.”
Despite this, the actor has gone down in history as a legendary actor and producer.
In recent years Liotta appeared in The Many Saints Of Newark and starred alongside Taron Egerton in the Apple TV series Black Bird.
His representative confirmed the news to several outlets saying the actor had died in his sleep.
Liotta leaves behind his daughter Karsen and his fiancee Jacy Nittolo.
Shiala Mahmood