When it comes to modern actors, particularly modern American actors who were not part of the '90s American Indie scene, you unfortunately have to throw out filmography as a measure of talent. Trust, no one is more upset about that fact than me, but it is a fact. You just can't blame today's American actor for the lack of quality material.
Now, to speak on WHY Ray Liotta is a GREAT actor. Again, bullet point style.
*Ray does not put "acting" in front of "story." Ray works to the benefit of the story. Assisting in film is not the same as assisting in sports. It's not an act of deference. It's a show of talent. This is why he seems to be great in great movies, good in good movies, and "okay" in everything else. He doesn't play "bigger than the frame" - like Marlon Brando during the "I don't care" phase of his career. He doesn't "phone it in" - like Robert De Niro in pretty much everything since the '80s. He commits to what he plays, and what he's playing is a person in a certain world. You can't know how priceless such a gift is.
*He makes other actors look good by making it look like the other actor is making the choices in the scene. He's one of the best invisible back-leaders ever, especially considering how big a name he is.
*He is utterly believable, in everything. Find me 2 minutes where you don't believe him in a film.
*He has an uncommon gift for "letting the passenger drive" in the middle of a scene. I should probably explain what that means. In every scene - okay, for argument's sake, in just about every scene - he can be playing the character who is "driving" the scene, or the character who has the big moment in the scene ("driving" and "having the big moment" are not the same thing), and then MID-SCENE let the other actor take over. It's a tonal shift that's almost impossible to pull off - like switching seats with the passenger in a car WHILE DRIVING. Yet Liotta can do this with such ease you really believe the other guy in the scene is running things. There are great actors today who can do this (Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington come to mind), but Liotta's technique is more subtle.
*He's an "inside-out" actor who is concerned with "the outside." Yeah, he pretty much has the same face in every movie (something that arguably can't be helped), but the external stuff (his stance in FIELD OF DREAMS, the goatee in NARC, everything he does in YOUTH IN REVOLT) he does is GOLDEN.
*He's one of the few modern actors who can deliver a monologue. You have no idea how tough that is, especially for film actors. Liotta can deliver 2, 3 minutes of uninterrupted lines without the audience being aware that they're listening to a monologue. He doesn't do it often (it's a technique many filmmakers are scared to attempt, out of fear that the actor can't pull it off), he's got the kind of face that "says more than words," but look at some of the scenes in CORRINA, CORRINA or his scenes with Johnny Depp in BLOW.
*He can play intensity in degrees. I should explain what that means. Take Shia Lebouf for example (I apologize to PTP and Pelikula, the goddess of all things cinematic, for mentioning his name in a discussion on acting). Ask Shia to play "intense within a series of intense scenes" and you'll get a flat performance - you'll get Shia doing his one "intense-face" the entire time. Ask Ray Liotta to play "intense within a series of intense scenes" and you get this wonderful performance full of depth and nuance. Watch NARC, he never plays the same kind of angry twice; or for an even better example, watch CORRINA, CORRINA and see just how many different shades of frustrated he plays. He plays to the shade of the adjective, not merely the adjective.
*He's an actor who can choose to "act a cat out the room" at will. It's one of the reasons you don't see him in movies with other big name "acting" stars. If Al Pacino is having an off day, or Anthony Hopkins just isn't up to it, you will see it if they're in a scene with Ray Liotta. Remember that song "Big Pimpin'" by Jay-Z? Remember how Bun B "murdered Jay on his own shit"? Yeah, that's the kind of level Ray Liotta can bring. He does a good job of downplaying this fact (see my first two points), but he's an actor who can do it.
*He's had about 3 decades of acting work, and he hasn't started phoning it in. I dare you to name me another modern actor who can claim such a distinction.

Ask for examples if need be, but that should explain it.

I do it for the people.
Wordman


"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams