'Like teen lovers': Elizabeth Banks recalls sweet moment late Ray Liotta shared with his fiancee Jacy Nittolo before his death
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Elizabeth Banks, who directed the late Ray Liotta in the new movie 'Cocaine Bear', shared her favorite memory of the actor, insisting it's "one he wouldn't even know that I saw." The 49-year-old filmmaker revealed that despite Liotta majorly playing the hard man on screen, he was a big softie in real life.
"Ray just came so joyfully into it the whole time," Banks told People of his work during the filming of the horror-comedy. Speaking of her favorite memory of the actor, Banks recounted when she spotted Liotta and his fiancee Jacy Nittolo on a romantic stroll during his shoot for ‘Cocaine Bear’ in Ireland. However, Banks is confident that even the late actor would not have been aware that she saw them. The ‘Charlie’s Angels’ actress revealed that Liotta and his partner Nittolo stayed in Dalkey, a suburb of Dublin at the time. "It's beautiful. The main street is called Castle Street because there's a castle on it along with pubs and a wine shop. And it was just so charming," said Banks.
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Liotta was 'living his best life' with his fiance Nittolo
"And I was sitting in a cafe one night after work, and I saw Ray walking the street with his fiancee, Jacy. They were holding hands. They were clearly coming from dinner. They looked like teenage lovers," she told the outlet. She added that the sweet moment "is the image" that she has of the 'Goodfellas' actor. "Not from set or playing the character, but of him just living his best life in Ireland on this beautiful night, walking on this street with a woman that he loved," she said.
Nittolo continues to post about her late fiance on her social media. On December 18, she penned a sweet message for Liotta alongside a montage of photos featuring the pair and their children with The Beatles ‘In My Life’ playing in the background. "The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will," she wrote in the caption. "Today Ray would have been 68. I believe he created a lot for everyone that will live on forever, especially in the hearts of Ray’s sister Linda, his daughter Karsen and myself. Today we celebrate you."
Liotta to receive posthumous star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
After nearly nine months after the actor’s unexpected death, Liotta will be honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, February 24. "Ray Liotta's all-around career made him a triple threat and sadly his passing was devastating to the entertainment world," Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, said in a statement, adding, "The characters he portrayed will always be etched in Hollywood's film history."