20 Things You Didn't Know About Goodfellas

You wouldn't expect to see a director's parents playing roles in their son's movie, let alone a violent affair like Goodfellas, but that's exactly what Scorsese's parents did. Their roles are brief, but significant.

Catherine Scorsese plays Tommy's mother in the film, who of course appears after the boys kill Billy Batts (unbeknownst to her) and cooks them dinner. When Scorsese directed his mother in the scene, he didn't tell her that the characters in the movie had just killed someone and had the body hidden in their car, so she was just as naive as her character was.

Charles Scorsese appears as Vinnie, the man in prison who made the tomato sauce which Henry felt had too many onions, but was "still a very good sauce." Vinnie is later present at Tommy's execution.