The Many Saints star was impervious to my attempts to butter him up – maybe his lack of air-kissing pretension is what stopped him becoming a leading man after Goodfellas
Well, after talking with him on the phone, I can say this: he was, and probably always was, totally himself. This might sound like a bit of a non-answer, but it’s very rare to interview an actor who doesn’t bullshit you a little. After all, they’re trained to perform, to be liked, to get applause. Liotta was utterly uninterested in any of that to an occasionally comical extent. I asked, attempting to butter him up, if he was aware of his amazing screen presence. “Nah, not really.” He was adopted but found his birth mother as an adult – did that change his sense of self? “Not really.” What’s his approach to acting? “Just play pretend.”
