Goodfellas actor Paul Sorvino has died at the age of 83. Sorvino appeared frequently as a character actor throughout his career starting in the 1970s, starring in films like The Panic In Needle Park with Al Pacino and The Gambler with James Caan. In the 1980s, Sorvino appeared in Warren Beatty's Reds and Blake Edwards' A Fine Mess, before becoming a more prominent fixture in the 1990s with Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, Disney's The Rocketeer, Dick Tracy, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, and as Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stone's Nixon, as well as the TV role of Sergeant Phil Cerreta in Law & Order.
In the last few decades, Sorvino continued to work steadily, although did not find a role as iconic as Paul Cicero from Goodfellas again. Cicero was based on the real-life Lucchese crime family boss Paul Vario and Sorvino confessed that he almost didn't take the role as he wasn't sure he could pull off playing such an aggressive character. Sorvino ended up finding the character and has since left behind a great performance in one of the most revered films of all time. His most notable recent work was playing another crime boss, that of Frank Costello, in Epix's Godfather of Harlem starring Forest Whitaker.
Sorvino’s wife Dee Dee Sorvino announced her late husband's death on July 25, which was from natural causes due to Type 2 diabetes. In a statement to the press, Dee Dee said, “Our hearts are broken, there will never be another Paul Sorvino, he was the love of my life, and one of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen and stage." Sorvino leaves behind five decades of work in film and television, as well as three children, Michael, Mira, and Amanda. Mira Sorvino is an Academy Award-winning actress and activist, who shared her own thoughts on the passing of her father, saying, "He was the most wonderful father. I love him so much." See Mira and Dee Dee's posts on Sorvino's passing below:
Sorvino joins another recently-departed actor from Goodfellas - Ray Liotta, who played Henry Hill to Sorvino's Paulie. In addition to his acting work, Sorvino was also an accomplished Opera singer having taken 18 years of lessons, and worked as a bronze sculptor on the side, taking numerous high-profile commissions throughout his career. The late actor was also a strong voice of support for his daughter, Mira, when she revealed that disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein had made sexual advances toward her and seemingly blacklisted Sorvino when she refuted. Sorvino was open about his contempt toward Weinstein, saying, "Good for him if he goes [to jail], because if not, he has to meet me."
Sorvino is an actor that will continue to pop up in films that new audiences discover throughout the years, having created a massive library of titles with his name in the credits. A consummate professional that spread his ambition throughout many career fields, Sorvino leaves behind a robust and sprawling legacy in his wake. With Goodfellas, a role he was so apprehensive to take, Paul Sorvino ended up creating his most memorable performance, one which will long be revisited and remembered.
Source: Dee Dee Sorvino, Mira Sorvino