Ray Liotta, the actor best known for playing mobster Henry Hill in 鈥淕oodfellas鈥� and baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson in 鈥淔ield of Dreams,鈥� has died. He was 67.

An official at the Dominican Republic鈥檚 National Forensic Science Institute who was not authorized to speak to the media confirmed the death of Ray Liotta and said his body was taken to the Cristo Redentor morgue. The Hollywood Reporter and NBC 亚洲天堂 cited representatives for Liotta who said he died in his sleep Wednesday night. He was in the Dominican Republic to film a new movie.

Lorraine Bracco, who played Karen Hill in 鈥淕oodfellas鈥� tweeted Thursday that she was, 鈥淯tterly shattered to hear this terrible news about my Ray. I can be anywhere in the world & people will come up & tell me their favorite movie is Goodfellas. Then they always ask what was the best part of making that movie. My response has always been the same鈥�Ray Liotta.鈥�

Alessandro Nivola, who recently appeared with Liotta in 鈥淭he Sopranos鈥� prequel film 鈥淭he Many Saints of Newark鈥� wrote, 鈥淚 feel so lucky to have squared off against this legend in one of his final roles. The scenes we did together were among the all time highlights of my acting career. He was dangerous, unpredictable, hilarious, and generous with his praise for other actors. Too soon.鈥�

Seth Rogen, who Liotta acted with in the 2009 comedy 鈥淥bserve and Report鈥� tweeted, 鈥淗e was such a lovely, talented and hilarious person. Working with him was one of the great joys of my career and we made some of my favorite scenes I ever got to be in. A true legend of immense skill and grace.鈥�

The Newark, New Jersey, native was born in 1954 and adopted at age six months out of an orphanage by a township clerk and an auto parts owner. Liotta always assumed he was mostly Italian 鈥� the movies did too. But later in life while searching for his birth parents, he discovered he鈥檚 actually Scottish.

Though he grew up focused on playing sports, including baseball, during his senior year of high school, the drama teacher asked him if he wanted to be in a play, which he agreed to on a lark. Whether he knew it or not at the time, it planted a seed, though he still assumed he鈥檇 end up working construction. And later, at the University of Miami he picked drama and acting because they had no math requirement attached. He would often say in interviews that he only started auditioning for plays because a pretty girl told him to. But it set him on a course. After graduation, he got an agent and soon he got his first big break on the soap opera 鈥淎nother World.鈥�

It would take a few years for him to land his first big movie role, in Jonathan Demme鈥檚 鈥淪omething Wild鈥� as Melanie Griffith鈥檚 character鈥檚 hotheaded ex-convict husband Ray. He was 30 years old at the time and hadn鈥檛 had a steady job in five years. In an interview in 1993, he told The Associated Press that he wanted to get the part on his own merits even though he knew Griffith. When that didn鈥檛 work, he 鈥減honed Melanie.

鈥淚 hated doing it, because that鈥檚 politics for me; calling someone to help you out. But I kind of realize that鈥檚 part of what it鈥檚 all about,鈥� he said.

The turn earned him a Golden Globe nomination. A few years later, he would get the memorable role of the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson in 鈥淔ield of Dreams.鈥� Though it moved many to tears, it wasn鈥檛 without its critics. Liotta later recalled hearing a baseball announcer during a Mets game complain that he batted the opposite way Joe Jackson did.

鈥�(Bleep) you! He didn鈥檛 come back from the dead either!鈥� Liotta recalled thinking.

His most iconic role, as real life mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese鈥檚 鈥淕oodfellas鈥� came shortly after. He, and Scorsese, had to fight for it though, with multiple auditions and pleas to the studio to cast the still relative unknown.

鈥淭he thing about that movie, you know, Henry Hill isn鈥檛 that edgy of a character,鈥� Liotta said in an interview in 2012. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really the other guys who are doing all the actual killings. The one physical thing he does do, when he goes after the guy who went after Karen 鈥� you know, most audiences, they actually like him for that.鈥�

In the same interview, he marveled at how 鈥淕oodfellas鈥� had a 鈥渓ife of its own鈥� and has only grown over time.

鈥淧eople watch it over and over, and still respond to it, and different ages come up, even today, teenagers come up to me and they really emotionally connect to it,鈥� he said.

It didn鈥檛 matter the size of the role, Liotta always managed to stand out and steal scenes, whether as Johnny Depp鈥檚 father in 鈥淏low鈥� or Adam Driver鈥檚 bullish divorce lawyer in 鈥淢arriage Story.鈥�

鈥擫indsey Bahr And Martin Adames, The Associated Press