The Time Ray Liotta Eviscerated Bradley Cooper

For nearly four decades, Ray Liotta played some of the most intimidating and wild roles in film. Growing up in a working class neighborhood in New Jersey, his background landed him parts in mob films and police dramas such as Goodfellas, Cop Land, and Field of Dreams. In a massive new oral history of the late actor's life and work for Esquire, friends, family, and costars (like Sigourney Weaver! and Jennifer Lopez! and Andy Garcia!) shared stories about how they met the "naturally cool-ass fucking dude." Throughout that career, though, not everyone was immediately prepared for Liotta's intensity on set. As Liotta's long-time manager, Beth Holden-Garland, remembers, there was a time on the set of The Place Beyond the Pines when Liotta had to work a little tough love into Bradley Cooper because he just "wasn’t getting there."   [View in Browser]( [Esquire]( [SHOP]( EXCLUSIVE [SUBSCRIBE]( [The Time Ray Liotta Eviscerated Bradley Cooper]( [The Time Ray Liotta Eviscerated Bradley Cooper]( For nearly four decades, Ray Liotta played some of the most intimidating and wild roles in film. Growing up in a working class neighborhood in New Jersey, his background landed him parts in mob films and police dramas such as Goodfellas, Cop Land, and Field of Dreams. In a massive new oral history of the late actor's life and work for Esquire, friends, family, and costars (like Sigourney Weaver! and Jennifer Lopez! and Andy Garcia!) shared stories about how they met the "naturally cool-ass fucking dude." Throughout that career, though, not everyone was immediately prepared for Liotta's intensity on set. As Liotta's long-time manager, Beth Holden-Garland, remembers, there was a time on the set of The Place Beyond the Pines when Liotta had to work a little tough love into Bradley Cooper because he just "wasn’t getting there." [Read More](   [6 Things Esquire Editors Bought This Week]( [6 Things Esquire Editors Bought This Week]( Moleskins, mezcal, and everything in between. [Read More]( [The Rowing Machine You'll Actually Want to Use]( [The Rowing Machine You'll Actually Want to Use]( This thing got me rowing consistently, and I'm a lot better for it. [Read More](     [Brandon Sklenar is the Baddest Dutton of Them All]( [Brandon Sklenar is the Baddest Dutton of Them All]( Before Brandon Sklenar became an official Dutton™—nabbing the most sought-after family name on television today—the 1923 actor was a self-described “weird kid.” Last week over Zoom, Sklenar told me about his childhood in Northern New Jersey, and how he would create and live as different characters, just like Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can. “In those early years I was a lone wolf in my own head,” Sklenar says. “I'd go to school in a character for two weeks. No joke. I’d have an English accent, or I'd just make up words and languages, and entertain myself that way. I got pretty good at it.” No surprise: Sklenar became an actor. Now 31 years old, he stars in the Yellowstone spinoff series, 1923, as Spencer Dutton. Playing a war veteran and big game hunter in Africa, Sklenar’s character spends the show's first season on a harrowing journey back to America. Meanwhile, his family back home is running out of time. [Read More](   [8 Mattress Toppers That'll Give Your Bed a New Life]( [8 Mattress Toppers That'll Give Your Bed a New Life]( There's plush, supportive, and even cooling choices to shop. [Read More]( [The 50 Best Fantasy Books of All Time]( [The 50 Best Fantasy Books of All Time]( Fantasy is the oldest genre of literature, but its best release ever landed just six years ago. [Read More](     [The Last of Us Episode 7: Ellie's Caught in a Bad Romance]( [The Last of Us Episode 7: Ellie's Caught in a Bad Romance]( I hope you think that my good editor, Brady, did a nice job recapping last week's The Last of Us episode while I was off meeting Mario in Super Nintendo World. But I’m shocked to learn that I leave for one minute and Joel ends ups (possibly) dead?! A good cliffhanger, but I refuse to believe HBO is going to Ned Stark this show by killing off Pedro Pascal. When we pick up with our favorite duo, Joel’s alive, thankfully. But he’s fighting for his life in some abandoned basement. I guess everything is pretty much abandoned in this world, isn't it? Joel's injury does present a good opportunity for the series to spend some time telling the story solely from from Ellie’s perspective, and that’s exactly what HBO planned for this week. I smell a flashback. [Read More](   [Win a Vacation to The Buccaneer Golf & Beach Resort in St. Croix ($4,000 Value)!]( Follow Us [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection]( esquire.com ©2023 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019