Charlie Day said his “biggest regret” is that the late Ray Liotta won’t be able to see the audience’s reaction to their upcoming film, Fool’s Paradise.
The Horrible Bosses actor sat down with Today‘s Willie Geist on Sunday Sitdown to talk about the comedy he wrote, directed and stars in. The movie, which also stars Jason Sudeikis and Jason Bateman, follows a down-on-his-luck publicist (Ken Jeong) who helps turn a fool for love (Day) into a celebrity with the help of a Hollywood producer (Liotta). But along the way, as they cross paths with several others in the industry, they realize fame isn’t what they thought it would be.
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“Ray would text me every three months like, ‘Hey, man, what’s going on with that movie we did? When is it getting out?'” Day explained. “And I would say, ‘Ray, I’m so sorry. I’m stuck back doing It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I have to deliver this season and as soon as I wrap, I’m going to get back into the editing room, so everything’s on hold.'”
Fool’s Paradise is one of the last films that Liotta worked on before he died last year at the age of 67. While Liotta is known for his roles in Goodfellas, Narc and Field of Dreams, Day said his performance in the film will be just as memorable.
“He delivers a performance that is, in my mind. I won’t say it’s Goodfellas good, but it’s Ray Liotta good,” he added. “It’s up to his standards of what he can do well.”
During filming, Day recalled times when the Something Wild actor would pitch his own jokes to him and that some actually made it into the film. Overall, Day said he felt lucky to have Liotta in the movies because he was “just a really driven, committed, serious-about-his-craft guy.”
Fool’s Paradise is expected to hit theaters May 12.
