Soap Opera History

Ray Liotta Facts: Celebrities Who Started on Soaps

Published by

Shado Saeyang

5 years ago

Ray Liotta is a television and film actor who is best known for his work as Henry Hill in Goodfellas, Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams, Paul Krendler in Hannibal, and Ray Sinclair in Something Wild. He also got his start on a soap.

Along with his soap and film career, Liotta has also been on primetime television shows including Smith, Texas Rising, and Shades of Blue. From where he was born and raised to turning down an iconic TV role, here are five fast facts about the actor.

Who Is Ray Liotta?

Liotta was born on December 18 in Newark, New Jersey and was adopted when he was six months. He graduated from Union High School and then attended the University of Miami, where he earned a degree in fine arts. He started acting in musicals in college and was featured in shows like Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, and Cabaret.

Soap Beginnings
After graduating from college, Liotta moved to New York City and started his professional acting career. He landed the role of Joey Perrini on Another World and was on the show for about three years. He then left to try to make it in the film industry.

Sorry, Sopranos
Liotta actually turned down the iconic role of Tony Soprano in The Sopranos, which premiered on HBO in 1999. The part later went to James Gandolfini. He was then offered the character of Ralph Cifaretto, but he turned down that as well.

Music Video Star

Along with his film and television career, Liotta has also been in a couple of music videos. The first was in 2014 — David Guetta’s Lovers in the Sun, which has 171 million views on YouTube. He was then in Ed Sheeran’s 2015 music video for Bloodstream, which has over 27 million views on YouTube.

Getting Personal With Ray Liotta
Liotta married actress Michelle Grace in February 1997. The two met at her ex-husband, Mark Grace’s, professional baseball game. The couple co-starred in The Rat Pack television movie. They have a daughter, Karsen, who was born in December 1998. Liotta and Grace announced their divorce in 2004.