He first gained attention for his role in the film Something Wild , which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination. After his death in , Liotta was posthumously recognized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 24, His films that were released posthumously include Cocaine Bear , Fool's Paradise , Dangerous Waters all , and Liotta was born in Newark, New Jersey , on December 18, Liotta had a sister, Linda, who was also adopted.
He said that he knew that he was adopted as a young child, and presented a show-and-tell report. Liotta grew up in a Roman Catholic household in Union, New Jersey , [ 12 ] although his family was not especially religious.
He occasionally used prayer in his daily life, telling an interviewer, " Liotta attended the University of Miami , where he studied acting and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in After graduating from the University of Miami , Liotta moved to New York City, where he was hired as a bartender at the Shubert Organization and landed an agent within six months. He made his film debut in 's The Lonely Lady. His first major acting role was Something Wild , [ 7 ] [ 18 ] for which he received his first Golden Globe nomination, this nomination being for Best Supporting Actor β Motion Picture.
In , Liotta portrayed real-life mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese 's universally praised and commercially successful Academy Award winning film Goodfellas. In , he starred in the war comedy film Operation Dumbo Drop. Liotta earned critical praise for his turn in James Mangold 's film Cop Land , and he received critical praise in for his performance as a compulsive gambler in Phoenix.
He starred as himself in the sitcom Just Shoot Me! Liotta starred in the CBS television series Smith , which was pulled from the schedule after three episodes. In , Liotta appeared as himself in a purely vocal role for the "What a Croc! Also in , he played the father of drug dealer George Jung in the film Blow.
