What Happened Between Joe Pesci And Ray Liotta? One of the most famous Goodfellas moments is Tom Pesci’s “how am I funny” sequence, which was inspired by something that happened to Pesci.
Based on Nicholas Pileggi’s book Wiseguy, Goodfellas follows mob associate Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) from his days as a teenager drawn to the mafia presence in his neighborhood to his engagement with the criminal family of Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino).
In addition to that, Henry befriends a number of criminals, including Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), and works with them on several occasions.
What Happened Between Joe Pesci And Ray Liotta?
As viewers and Henry come to know these mobsters better in the first third of Goodfellas, he has a potentially violent fight with Tommy when Henry tells him that he’s “funny.”
Henry and the others are sitting in a cafe, listening to one of Tommy’s stories. Henry tells Tommy that he’s a funny man as everyone laughs, something Tommy doesn’t like.
Tommy interrogates Henry about it, inquiring as to how he is amusing. As the tension rises, Henry tries to explain himself, but Tommy presses him, asking whether he sees him as a “clown” who is only there to “amuse him.”
After a brief moment of stillness (which in a scenario like that feels like an eternity), Henry bursts out laughing, with Tommy confessing he was simply playing with him and “nearly had him.”
Likewise, Tommy had another outburst of rage towards the restaurant’s manager. Henry called him funny for the second time (and a third time later), eliciting a less serious reaction from Tommy.
This sequence from Goodfellas has become one of the most iconic, and it’s based on something that occurred to Pesci while he was working at a restaurant.
Goodfellas “Funny How” Scene Turned Into A Meme
Goodfellas contains a number of memorable scenes, including the one in which Tommy DeVito asks Henry Hill, “How am I funny?” based on a true story about Joe Pesci.
Pesci used to work as a server in a restaurant when he was younger. He complimented a gangster by stating he was “funny,” but the praise was not well received.
Likewise, Pesci shared this incident with Scorsese while working on Goodfellas, and he enjoyed it so much that he decided to include it in the film.
However, because he didn’t include it in the shooting screenplay, only Pesci and Liotta were aware of what was going on in the scene, and it was improvised and rehearsed by them but kept a secret from the rest of the cast to capture their true responses.
Joe Pesci And Ray Liotta Goodfellas Net Worth Comparison 2022
Joe Pesci is a 79-year-old American actor with an estimated net worth of $50 million, and his major source of income is as a successful actor.
In addition to that, The actor is known for his roles in Martin Scorsese’s flicks Goodfellas, Raging Bull, and Casino.
On the other hand, Ray Liotta was an actor, filmmaker, and voice actor who made a name for himself in films like Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1992). (1994).
Not only that, He appeared in over 60 feature films over the course of three decades. His net worth is believed to be around $14 million.
