Goodfellas is widely considered one of the greatest movies in movie history, and many elements from it have been admired over the years, as are the performances of the main assign- but it was almost different as Paul Sorvino almost put out before filming. Martin Scorsese has explored various categories of genres throughout his profession as a filmmaker, deserving him the respect and delight of the audience, but he’s still best known for his robber movies. His best drive from that category, and also one of his best in general, is Goodfellas, released after 1990 and based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi.

Goodfellas recounts the life of Henry Hill( Ray Liotta ), from his daylights as a boy mesmerized by the mafia presence in his Italian-American neighborhood and feeing errands for Paul Cicero( Paul Sorvino) and his crew, to his full involvement with the Lucchese crime family and his decision to become an FBI informant years later. Goodfellas was very well-received by commentators and triumphed various accolades, and the gathering has admired the implementation of its of the cast for years, but Henry’s crew could have been very different, as Sorvino nearly put out.

Related: Goodfellas: How The Movie’s Paulie Compares To The Real Life Paul Vario

Sorvino dallied Paul Cicero, the regional caporegime and member of the Lucchese crime family in New York, which is one of the “Five Families” of the American Mafia. Cicero was the one who presented Henry his start in the mob, as he ran errands for the gang and gradually started to get involved in a couple of illegal activities. Paulie was a father figure to Henry in the mob, but their relationship began to deteriorate when they came out of jail and Henry started to traffic medications, something Paul didn’t accept in his gang. Paulie’s govern was to stay away from the business of drugs, but Henry didn’t listen. Paul ceased their association because of this, and he was imprisoned together with Jimmy Conway( Robert De Niro) and others after Henry testified against them. Paulie, then, was a very important character in Henry’s story, but Sorvino struggled to connect with the character, particularly with the violent line-up of it.

During a conversation at the 25 th-anniversary reunion of Goodfellas at Tribeca Film Festival in 2015( via Daily News ), Sorvino discovered he was close to quitting just three days before production began, this as he was unsure if he could play a attribute as vigorous as Paul Cicero. Sorvino said that he called his agent so they would get him out of the project. Sorvino’s agent reportedly told him to think about it before making a final decision, and later, Sorvino was about to fix his tie in the mirror when he saw the face he needed for the character right in front of him, and so he decided to continue with the project. Although Sorvino was no newcomer by the time Goodfellas happened, Scorsese’s project surely generated his job a raise, though he has failed to repeat that success. Among his most notable operates post-Goodfellas are the movies Repo! The Genetic Opera and The Immigrant, as well as the TV pictures Constitution& Order, That’s Life, Bad blood, and Godfather of Harlem.

Paul Sorvino merely needed that spontaneous realization that he had what was needed to play Paul Cicero in Goodfellas to really push him to get it on, and supporters of the movie can thank Paul and his agent for not letting him drop out of the project that easily. It’s strange to imagine what Goodfellas would therefore be like without Paul Sorvino, but that might be an interesting exercise to do the next time you watch the movie.

Next: Goodfellas: How Real-Life Gangsters Reacted To The Movie

Read more: screenrant.com