1. Ray Liotta
When Scorsese placed him at the heart (and, in some ways,
as the heart) of
Goodfellas, we watched Liotta's Henry Hill rise through the ranks of Brooklyn's mob under the most mercurial of mentors, Tommy Devito (Joe Pesci). Soon the latter's foul-mouthed fits of apoplexy and sudden outbursts of violence found their way from tutor to charge - and some of the silver screen's most sadistic psychopaths were, appropriately, made in an instant... Since then, his presence has become cinematic shorthand for 'sinister'. Not for him the cartoon villain roles but instead the conflicted cop; the complex, cold-hearted, and quite often incorrigible, killers. If we've learnt anything from the likes of
Turbulence,
Cop Land, Narc, Hannibal, Revolver, Something Wild or
Smokin' Aces, it's that his credit on a crime thriller means only one thing: there will be blood. Of course, film throws thousands of thugs at us every year; what makes this guy so special? Well, just think of a Ray Liotta film. Chances are that trademark grin has flashed across your mind, that nervous laugh crept into your ears. For there are few things more frightening than Ray Liotta trying to lighten the mood. For what inevitably follows such a smile? A body count almost thirty years in the making, that's what. Which is why, in last year's Killing Them Softly, the poker tables were finally turned- and, more recently, sharing a film with Ben Mendelsohn for the second time, Liotta looked to his past for
The Place Beyond ThePines. Ray Liotta is the undisputed king of corrupt cops, the clown prince of the criminal underworld. Long may he continue.