Michael Imperioli Says He Stayed in Character the First Time He Met Robert DeNiro on the Set of “Goodfellas”
Michael Imperioli Says He Stayed in Character the First Time He Met Robert DeNiro on the Set of “Goodfellas”
Virginia ChamleeThu, June 18, 2026 at 9:30 PM UTC
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Michael Imperioli, Robert De NiroCredit: Daniele Venturelli/WireImage;Bryan Bedder/Getty -
Michael Imperioli is recalling his first time meeting Robert De Niro on the set of Goodfellas when he was just 23 years old
The actor explained how director Martin Scorsese encouraged actors to stay in character on and off camera during filming
Imperioli served De Niro a scotch in character to avoid intimidating the legendary actor with fan-like behavior
Michael Imperioli says he still remembers the first time he met Robert De Niro — and their atypical introduction to one another.
Imperioli, now 60, was just 23, when he began filming 1990's Goodfellas with De Niro, now 82.
Speaking at a recent event with Sofia Coppola at New York City's Cherry Lane Theatre, Imperioli recalled how director Martin Scorsese encouraged actors to remain in character even when the film wasn't being shot.
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"He said, 'My trailer's over here. If you have any questions, come and see me,' " Imperioli recalled of the director. "And he said, 'Just one thing I ask. Treat the actors like the characters on and off camera.' Which made it much more easy for me because it wasn't just an actor intimidated by his heroes or whatever."
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Imperioli went on to recount the first time De Niro walked on to the set.
"So, it's the first time I'm ever seeing Robert De Niro in person, and he sat down," the actor recalled. "I walked up to him and I just said ... 'Jimmy, what are you drinking?' And he looked like [confused], and then he kind of realized, and he went, 'Shot of scotch, a glass of water.' "
Imperioli continued: "And I brought him a shot of scotch which I poured at the bar and a glass of water ... the last thing he wants is, like, some young actor going, 'I loved you in Raging Bull,' you know, he wants to do his work."
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The Martin Scorsese film was an adaptation of Nicholas Pileggi's book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family. The 1990 crime epic follows Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), a Brooklyn kid whose idealization of the gangsters in his Italian-American neighborhood leads to his rise through the Mafia ranks before he turns FBI informant.
Goodfellas went on to receive six Academy Award nominations, with much of its acclaim attributed to the actors' powerhouse performances. The star-studded cast featured Scorsese regulars such as Liotta, De Niro and Joe Pesci (who took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), as well as Lorraine Bracco and other familiar faces in the genre.
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