45. Tommy DeVito

Appearance: Goodfellas (1990)

Creators: Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese

Performer: Joe Pesci

Defining moment: The shinebox to-do is pretty iconic but the knife-edge tension of DeVito’s improvised drinking confrontation with Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) remains unmatchable. “Funny how? What’s funny about it?”

Fascinating fact: The above exchange was based on something that actually happened to Pesci.

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