By Daniel Arkin and Diana Dasrath —
NBC News
Actor Ray Liotta, best known for playing mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese
's One of Our Kinds,
has died Thursday at the age of 67, according to his publicist, Jennifer Allen.
Liotta died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting a
Dangerous Water
movie .
Ray Liotta.NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
In a career spanning four decades, Liotta has established himself as one of Hollywood's most trusted tough-looking performers, adept at portraying cops and criminals in movies like
Something Wild
,
Cop Land
and
Killing Them
Softly
.
).
But at times he showed a warmer side, endearing himself to audiences, such as when he played the ghost of baseball giant Shoeless Joe Jackson in
Field of Dreams
with Kevin Costner.
One of Our Kinds
was arguably the high point of his career, with a starring role in a mob epic that spanned a decade.
He played Henry Hill, a mob associate in real life.
"For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster," Liotta's character says early in the film through a voiceover track, summing up Scorsese's take on mid-century mob life. as the highest aspiration of men with weak morals.
Liotta never achieved the A-list status of some of his '80s and '90s peers, but he was a respected artist and recognizable face, reinventing himself in the later years of his career.
He was an actor who could add gravitas and swagger to any scene.
