‘Huge energy’: Robyn Malcolm pays tribute to the late Black Bird star Ray Liotta

Robyn Malcolm was “over the moon and delighted” to win a supporting role in the exciting drama series Black Birdand says it was “great” to work opposite the late great Ray Liotta.

The homegrown star of classic Kiwi shows like Outrageous Fortune plays Sammy Keene, wife of Liotta’s character ‘Big Jim’ Keene and stepmother of James Keene, played by Taron Egerton, in the new six-part crime show Television+).

Malcolm loved working with Liotta – who remains synonymous with his performance as mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas – in what was his last television role. before he died on May 26†

“He just had such a huge energy,” Malcolm . said stuff†

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“I felt like he was one of those people who would last a million years.”

Malcolm spent a month filming for the series in New Orleans and was introduced to Liotta and his fiancée, Jacy Nittolo, the night before filming began.

During an initial two-hour meeting in the hotel bar, they began connecting for their portrait of the Keenes’ 30-year marriage, a process made easier thanks to Malcolm’s down-to-earth humor and style.

“We had a really good laugh. His fiancé is hilarious, I loved hanging out with her,” she said.

“The next day, when we started, he growled at me across the room ‘my fiancé said you were as funny as f…’. “(That’s) Always a good way to start, and we had a lot of fun that day, pottering around, improvising and laughing.

“Of course I did my best that day to be as ‘funny as f…’ and of course, like all movie buffs, I questioned him non-stop about Goodfellas.”

Malcolm was impressed by Liotta’s work ethic and dedication, while working under the direction of Black Bird creator and writer Dennis Lehane, who developed the script for James Keene’s 2010 memoir.

“He was really meticulous. (Ask) ‘If this happens to me here, what happens there? And what happens there? And how is that going to work?’ she said.

“He would leave nothing to chance and would challenge people if they didn’t know their stuff.”

The opportunity to work on Black Bird came years after Malcolm first established a connection with great American casting director Alexa Fogel, who has curated lineups for some of the biggest shows of the past three decades, such as The Wire, True Detective , Atlanta and Ozark.

“She called me one day and said, do you want to be on the show? And I was like, ‘Yeah, hell yeah,’ said Malcolm.

“And then I found out I was playing this character, Taron’s stepmother and Ray’s wife. And it’s a small supporting role, but I’ve worked with phenomenal people.

“So I was totally over the moon and excited to be able to do it.”

Malcolm, 57, is comfortable playing older characters, although her appearance as Sammy prompted some tactful feedback from her teenage sons, Pete and Charlie.

“Pete said to me, ‘Did they make you old for that’? And I said, No.

“It was a very long break and then one of them said, ‘Oh, well acted then’. And I said ‘really?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, you just look like one of those very old cigarette mothers’.

“I was like, ‘Wow, yes, thanks for that.’ There is no vanity in this house.”

With Black Bird receiving rave reviews from viewers and critics alike, Malcolm regrets that Liotta can’t enjoy the project’s success.

“It was super sad to hear (of his passing).

“It’s a terribly cruel irony that Ray couldn’t see, appreciate and be proud of his work. The reviews for his work here have been justly phenomenal.”

Currently, Malcolm is collaborating with Temuera Morrison on the upcoming local series Far North – a dark comedy about an infamous methamphetamine import on Ninety Mile Beach (Te One-roa-a-Tōhē) in 2016 – Malcolm boasts that she has “the best job in the world”.

“If the script is great, if you know you’re working with a collection of creatives who are at the top of their field, there’s nothing better. It’s just pure joy.”