"Narc" Interview: Ray Liotta
By Kit Bowen, Hollywood.com Staff
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Tuesday, December 24, 2002
Ray Liotta as Henry Oak in "Narc" |
You don't want to make Ray Liotta mad--especially if he's producing your film.
In his latest, the gritty indie Narc, Liotta stars as a veteran narcotics detective whose partner is killed and who soon finds out his new partner (played by Jason Patric) assigned to help track down the killers has a few demons of his own.
Liotta, who first made his mark in the dark comedy Something Wild and went on to star in such high-profile films as Goodfellas, Hannibal and Field of Dreams, dons the producer's hat for the first time with Narc--no easy feat. Here he tells us how aggravating it was getting Narc to the big screen but how he managed to use that ire to help fuel his character. The end result is something Liotta is very proud of--and it's a good thing, too.
Narc is certainly an intense film. Did it read that way on the page?
Liotta: I just read the script and it was like whoa! It was really raw. It reminded me of a '70s kind of movie. If it could be done right, it could make an impact. You just get caught up in this thing and then there's the great twist in the end. My wife read Narc as well and was really into it. She really liked [my] character and just thought it would be a great thing for me to do. And she was persistent. So finally I said, why not?
Is this the kind of movie you like to do?
Liotta: I think I'm pretty savvy about films and scripts…all of a sudden I got Hannibal, Heartbreakers and Blow and I was in a good position movie-wise. I sort of got out of that little funk I was in.
What happened when you first met first-time writer/director Joe Carnahan?
Liotta: I just really liked his sensibilities. I wanted to give him a shot. What I was thinking when I read the script was exactly what he wanted. We had to keep this thing as raw and as real as what was on the page. We couldn't compromise and that was music to his ears--and to mine. I just wasn't sure if he could do it. Because who knows?
Were you a little worried working with a novice, having worked with such big-time directors as Scorsese, Jonathan Demme and Ridley Scott?
Liotta: Well, he obviously had a great vision but I didn't know that at first. After talking to him, he is just really bright. I think I just wanted to encourage him, come in extremely professional, and he picked up on it. Sometimes you could tell he felt overwhelmed but we helped him to get through that. I just really set an example. I like to prepare myself extremely well so when I come in, it's ready to get it done. And he understood that.
So what makes your character, Henry, tick?
Liotta: The script told me that [Henry] loved his late wife deeply. He says the best place in the world was in laying his head on her lap. Henry is just a really good guy who is sick of the system. Reminded me very much of The French Connection. I grew up with '70s movies and they were grayer then. Now it seems [movies that are made] are so motivated by money that the appeal is broadened for everybody. Hopefully, this film will break through.
To play a "guy on the edge" you changed yourself physically, gaining weight and such. Was it the first time you've ever done something like that for a film?
Liotta: Well, for Blow I had to age from 20 to 60, starting out in shape and then later putting on fat pads. For this movie, I gained 25 pounds. For some reason Joe wanted me to have a goatee, so I grew one. But it made sense for [Henry], his wife dies and he loved her so deeply, he just lets it all go. He didn't care anymore. If he was the first guy in the door and got shot, it didn't matter; he was still going to go after the bad guys. Like [Henry] says, "I became a better cop the day she died." I figured a guy like that, he'd let himself go. I shaved my hair back, put on the weight, wore three-inch soles in my shoes to make me walk differently.
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