‘Corrina, Corrina’ (1994)
In this 1950s set drama, Liotta plays a father who is taking care of his daughter after the death of his wife. He hires a nanny, Corrina (played by Whoopi Goldberg), and they slowly develop a romance, despite the politics of interracial relationships at the time. The role allowed Liotta to soften and to show the soul and humanity underneath his unnerving exterior. He also plays the piano, which most of his psycho characters never got the chance to do.
‘Cop Land’ (1997)
James Mangold’s New Jersey crime drama was Sylvester Stallone’s bid into ’90s indie territory, and Sly was surrounded by a top-notch cast that included Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Robert Patrick, Janeane Garofalo, Annabella Sciorra and yes, Ray Liotta. Liotta, a native of Newark, N.J., plays Gary “Figgsy” Figgis, a cop on the edge, who delivers the film’s best speech (if not its best line, that belongs to De Niro’s “you bleeeewwwwww it!”) when he explains to Stallone’s character his philosophy of moving through life. “If you move diagonal, you’re going to get perpetual motion, and that’s what you want,” says the actor, who never, ever stopped moving.
‘Narc’ (2002)
Liotta gained 25 pounds and grew a goatee to play homicide (homicidal?) detective Henry Oak in director Joe Carnahan’s Detroit-set crime thriller, in which Toronto stands in for the Motor City save for a few key shots. Oak is an intimidating figure and has a Liotta character’s familiar, signature violent tendencies, but it’s a strong moral standing that leads to him crossing the line, as he explains in one key scene (see above), in which he speaks with a quiet, measured ferociousness. Liotta believed in the character and in Carnahan’s script so much that he became a producer on the film, and helped land a deal with Tom Cruise’s production company to get the Sundance hit into theaters.
‘Killing Them Softly’ (2012)
As Markie Trattman, a low-level scumbag accused of orchestrating the holdup of a Mafia poker game, Liotta plays a small but crucial role in Andrew Dominik’s crime drama. Markie suffers a violent beating at the hands of a couple of reluctant thugs — they don’t want to be delivering the beating any more than Markie wants to be receiving it, but hey, times are tough for everybody — and the humanity in both Dominik’s script and Liotta’s performance make each punch land with a sickening thud.