Ray Liotta once picked out the most overrated actor in Hollywood
When Ray Liotta passed away in 2022, the world of Hollywood mourned. The actor had starred in a number of fan favourites over the previous 40 years or so, most notably in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, in which he portrayed the infamous mobster Henry Hill.
While Liotta drew acclaim from cinema fans and those within the industry, there were a few occasions on which he had less than nice things to say about his fellow actors and directors. When promoting his Shades of Blue TV show with Jennifer Lopez, Liotta called out some big Hollywood names.
Talk show host Andy Cohen had Liotta and Lopez sit down whilst handcuffed to one another while he asked the pair a series of rather uncomfortable questions. When Liotta was asked which of the actors he’d worked with was the “worst kisser”, Liotta replied without hesitation, “Sigourney”, a real shot to the heart (and mouth) of the Alien star Sigourney Weaver.
Liotta had previously worked with Weaver on the 2001 romantic crime comedy movie Heartbreakers, a fitting title for the bomb that Liotta dropped. However, while Weaver might have been a bit miffed a Liotta’s cruel words, at least she didn’t suffer the ignominies of what came next.
“This is the worst game in the world,” Lopez exclaimed after Liotta’s answer of Weaver. But the biggest part of the evening came in the next question when Cohen asked Liotta who the was “most overrated actor of the 1980s and 1990s”. Liotta paused for a moment and then spat out, “Clint Eastwood, probably”.
The air hung thick, knowing that it was unwise to talk trash about the western film icon. Still, Liotta stuck by his word. “I don’t give a shit!” he shouted. There was no room for any justification from Liotta as to why Eastwood was so overrated, nor would he want to, most likely, as Cohen swiftly moved on.
Thankfully, Liotta and Eastwood never worked together because it may have been a seriously tense affair. Liotta did, however, work with Scott Eastwood, son of Clint, in the film April 29, 1992, which told of the early 1990s Los Angeles riots. It looks as though there was no bad blood between Liotta and young Eastwood despite the former’s controversial words.
Of his time working with Liotta, Scott Eastwood told ET Canada, “He was brash, funny, and incredibly dry. There was no shit with Ray, and I liked that. He had a very fun way of making sure there was no shit, but in a way that kept it fun and kept people laughing.” No shit, and incredibly dry… ain’t that the truth!
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