Ray Liotta, 67

Well, it's hard to say isn't it? It was heart related, so it's on the table.

While it was not his first film - he played Shoeless Joe Jackson in EIGHT MEN OUT - GOOD FELLAS was his first big part, and my God was he great in that movie. First, just not getting blown off the screen by Pesi & DeNiro (who could still act at that time), and second, was actually great in his own right.

About the only comparison in movie history to what Liotta pulls off is Nigel Terry as King Arthur in John Boorman's EXCALIBUR, as both men play characters starting as very young men then follow them through the rest of their epic lives - all without missing a beat.  The audience immediately falls in love with them, despite being unknowns.

In some ways Liotta had the harder job as Henry Hill had none of the redeeming qualities of King Arthur, but instead was a piece of shit. The whole movie hung on the audience liking and even rooting for this piece of shit who relentlessly cheats on his wife, helps murder & rob people, and hoovers up coke like it's free....

...And yet we still come to love him anyway thanks to Liotta. Indeed, GOOD FELLAS might be the only movie ever made without a single redeeming character in it. Without Liotta's brilliance, it would have never worked.

The rest of his career - somewhat akin to another actor who was completely brilliant in their first movie, Peter O'Toole - never quite matched his early break out performance, but it matters little. People until the end of time will be rooting for Henry Hill to get one more caper over the bulls.