Gangster film for Joe Pesci's performance. Others, however, strayed into stereotypes and the gratuitous use of Italian ethnicity in minor characters who happened to be criminals. This created a backlash in the Italian American community. The films of the 1990s produced several critically acclaimed mob films, many of which were loosely based on real crimes and their perpetrators. Many of these films featured long-time actors well known for their roles as mobsters such as Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Chazz Palminteri. "Goodfellas", directed by Martin Scorsese, starred Ray Liotta as real-life associate of the Lucchese crime family Henry Hill.
Robert De Niro Scorsese earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta in the 1980 film "Raging Bull". De Niro's first major film roles were in the sports drama "Bang the Drum Slowly" (1973) and Scorsese's crime film "Mean Streets" (1973). He earned Academy Award nominations for the psychological thrillers "Taxi Driver" (1976) and "Cape Fear" (1991), both directed by Scorsese. De Niro received additional nominations for Michael Cimino's Vietnam war drama "The Deer Hunter" (1978), Penny Marshall's drama "Awakenings" (1990), and David O. Russell's romantic comedy-drama "Silver Linings Playbook" (2012). His portrayal of gangster Jimmy Conway