Martin Scorsese "Goodfellas", and its excessive violence that garnered it a reputation as possibly the most violent American gangster film ever made. Indeed, many of the tropes and tricks of the earlier film resurfaced more or less intact, most obviously the casting of both Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, Pesci once again playing an unbridled psychopath. Sharon Stone was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance. During the filming Scorsese played a background part as a gambler at one of the tables. Scorsese still found time for a four-hour documentary in 1995, titled "A Personal Journey with Martin
Frank Vincent piano, and trumpet, Vincent originally aspired to a career in music but turned to acting in the 1970s, when he co-starred in the low-budget gangster movie "The Death Collector" (1976) along with Joe Pesci, where they were spotted by Robert De Niro. De Niro told Martin Scorsese about both Vincent and Pesci; Scorsese was impressed by their performances and hired Vincent to appear in a supporting role in "Raging Bull" (1980), in which he once again appeared with Pesci and co-starred with De Niro. Vincent soon thereafter appeared in small roles in two Spike Lee films: "Do the Right Thing"