Elizabeth Banks has a special memory of the late Ray Liotta.
Banks directed Liotta in “Cocaine Bear” before he passed away in his sleep in May 2022 at age 67.
Despite the actor playing the film’s real villain, a drug dealer trying to recover his stash, in the movie, she insists he’s a softie in real life.
Banks tells People of his part in the flick, “Ray just came so joyfully into it the whole time.”
READ MORE: Elizabeth Banks Opens Up About Working With Ray Liotta On ‘Cocaine Bear’ Not Long Before He Died
The movie-maker insists her favourite memory of him is “one he wouldn’t even know that I saw.”
Liotta was joined by his fiancée Jacy Nittolo during filming in Ireland, and Banks says she saw a cute moment between the pair while staying in Dalkey; a suburb in Dublin.
She tells the mag, “It’s beautiful. The main street is called Castle Street because there’s a castle on it, along with pubs and a wine shop. And it was just so charming.
“And I was sitting in a cafe one night after work, and I saw Ray walking the street with his fiancée, Jacy. They were holding hands. They were clearly coming from dinner. They looked like teenage lovers.”
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Banks says the cute moment “is the image that I have of him,” adding: “Not from set or playing the character, but of him just living his best life in Ireland on this beautiful night, walking on this street with a woman that he loved.”
Nittolo has been sharing an array of tributes to Liotta on Instagram, with her sharing a sweet photo montage on Dec. 18 to mark what would have been his 68th birthday.
She wrote, “‘The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.’
“Today Ray would have been 68. I believe he created a lot for everyone that will live on forever, especially in the hearts of Ray’s sister Linda, his daughter Karsen and myself. Today we celebrate you ❤️”
