History Characters / Goodfellas

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: For all his flaws and infidelities, Henry genuinely loves Karen and his daughters.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Henry's a jerk and lifelong criminal, but draws the line at murder. Even he's visibly disturbed when Tommy and Jimmy brutally beat up Billy Batts.

* {{Hypocrite}}: He expresses distaste for Tommy [[spoiler: being assassinated for murdering a made man, considering the entire business to be sleazy. In other words, he thinks it is unfair the one time Tommy murders somebody the mafia wouldn't ''tolerate'' him killing.]]
** Henry also routinely justifies and excuses the criminal actions and problematic behavior of himself and his friends, but objects when similar situations happen to him. Basically, Henry and his friends can murder and steal as much as they want, but the second that they are impeded then they have a problem.

* WouldHitAGirl: He throws a lamp at Karen when they had an argument.
** He later takes the gun that Karen held him at gunpoint with and points it at her face, threatening to kill her after she finds out he cheated on her.

* AxCrazy: A ''very'' subtle example. We rarely ever see him lose his cool demeanor, and he comes off as a rational individual. Then the corpses of nearly everyone who participated in the Lufthansa heist start popping up everywhere.

* AffablyEvil: An interesting case of someone who starts as AffablyEvil but gradually degrades to FauxAffablyEvil when they begin to question loyalties. At first, he's very amiable and generous despite being a gangster. After the Lufthansa heist, he continues to act friendly even as his increasing paranoia drives him to kill anyone who threatens his plans. By the time Henry's trying to sell him silencers, he's not even pretending to be affable anymore.
* AxCrazy: A very subtle example. We rarely ever see him lose his cool demeanor, and he comes off as a rational individual. Then the corpses of nearly everyone who participated in the Lufthansa heist start popping up everywhere.

* AffablyEvil: An interesting case of someone who starts as Affably Evil but gradually degrades to Faux Affably Evil when they begin to question loyalties. At first, he's very amiable and generous despite being a gangster. After the Lufthansa heist, he continues to act friendly even as his increasing paranoia drives him to kill anyone who threatens his plans. By the time Henry's trying to sell him silencers, he's not even pretending to be affable anymore.

* FauxAffablyEvil: At first, he's very amiable and generous despite being a gangster. After the Lufthansa heist, he continues to act friendly even as his increasing paranoia drives him to kill anyone who threatens his plans. By the time Henry's trying to sell him silencers, he's not even pretending to be affable anymore.

* AffablyEvil: Quite possibly his ''only'' redeeming quality. Despite being an AxCrazy PsychopathicManchild, he acts like this to his comrades and his mother, showing a lot of respect to them. It helps that, for all his faults, Tommy genuinely cares about his friends ("I didn't want to get blood on your floor") and is emphatically loyal to them in a life where loyalty and covering for each other is everything.

* AffablyEvil: Despite being an AxCrazy PsychopathicManchild, he acts like this to his comrades and his mother, showing a lot of respect to them. It helps that, for all his faults, Tommy genuinely cares about his friends ("I didn't want to get blood on your floor") and is emphatically loyal to them in a life where loyalty and covering for each other is everything.[[note]]While the film doesn't touch on this, in real life, [=DeSimone=] was also friends with Stacks Edwards, whom he was tasked with whacking. While he does the deed as shown in the film, he was apparently remorseful for having to do so.[[/note]]

* BloodKnight: And loves to boast about it.

!!!Henry Hill

!!!Jimmy "The Gent" Conway

!!!Paul "Paulie" Cicero

!!!Tommy [=DeVito=]

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Aside from Jimmy (and to an extent Henry), it gradually becomes clear that nobody in the mob genuinely likes Tommy.

* {{Jerkass}}: Tommy is an aggressive, unpredictable and moody madman who generally acts unpleasantly and loves to antagonize others.

!!!Karen Friedman Hill

!!!William "Billy Batts" Bentvena

!!!Morrie Kessler

!!!Spider

!!Henry Hill

[[caption-width-right:350:''"One day, some neighborhood kids carried my mother's groceries all the way home. You know why? It was out of respect."'']]

-> ''"For us, to live any other way was nuts. To us, those goody-good people who worked shitty jobs for bum paychecks...and took the subway to work and worried about bills, were dead. They were suckers. They had no balls. If we wanted something, we just took it."''

!!Jimmy Conway

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I'm proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man, and learned the two greatest things in life. Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut."'']]

->''"Jimmy was the kind of guy who rooted for the bad guys in the movies."''

!!Paul "Paulie" Cicero

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Don't make a jerk of me. Just don't do it. Don't do it."'']]

->''"Paulie might have moved slow... but it was only because Paulie didn't have to move for ''anybody''."''

!!Tommy [=DeVito=]

->''"There was nothing we could do. Batts was a Made Man and Tommy wasn't."''

!!Karen Friedman Hill

!!William "Billy Batts" Bentvena

!!Morrie Kessler

!!Spider

-> ''"For us, to live any other way was nuts. To us, those goody-good people who worked shitty jobs for bum paychecks...and took the subway to work and worried about bills, were dead. They were suckers. They had no balls. If we wanted something, we just took it."'']

* AxCrazy: His randomly violent behavior is largely whimsical, or even driven by a desire 'ForTheLulz', especially when he's drunk, ''especially'' when he's drunk. From killing without provocation to [[HairTriggerTemper explosive outbursts]], his unpredictable and dangerous behavior, coupled with a lack of discretion, [[spoiler:prompts TheMafia itself to decide to take him out]].

* ForTheEvulz: The way he abuses Spider is nothing but sadistic delight.

* ItAmusedMe: The only explanation for his [[AxCrazy randomly sadistic and violent behavior]] when unprovoked and under the influence of excessive alcohol. His verbal and physical abuse of Spider is because he wants to and can, for his own {{sadist}}ic entertainment.

-->'''Tommy''': ''[after killing Spider]'' [[NeverMyFault A good shot, what do you want from me? A good shot.]]\\
'''Anthony''': How could you miss at this distance?\\
'''Tommy''': What, you got a problem with what I did, Anthony? Fucking rat, anyway. His whole family's all rats. He would've grown up to be a rat.\\
'''Jimmy''': Stupid bastard, I can't fucking believe you. Now, you're gonna dig the fucking thing now. You're gonna dig the hole. You're gonna do it. I got no fucking lime, you're gonna do it.\\
'''Tommy''': Who the fuck cares?! I'll dig the fucking hole, I don't give a fuck. What is it, the first hole I dug? First time I dug a hole, I'll dig the fucking hole. Now, where are the shovels?

* AxCrazy: His randomly violent behavior is largely whimsical, or even driven [[ForTheLulz for the lulz]], ''especially'' when he's drunk. From killing without provocation to [[HairTriggerTemper explosive outbursts]], his unpredictable and dangerous behavior, coupled with a lack of discretion, [[spoiler:prompts the Mafia itself to decide to take him out]].

* BrooklynRage: He's from Brooklyn and his HairTriggerTemper is legendary.

* AxCrazy: His randomly violent behavior is largely whimsical, or even driven by pure {{sadist}}ic [[ForTheLulz amusement]], ''especially'' when he's drunk. From killing without provocation to [[HairTriggerTemper explosive outbursts]], his unpredictable and dangerous behavior, coupled with a lack of discretion, [[spoiler:prompts the Mafia itself to decide to take him out]].

* AxCrazy: His randomly violent behavior is largely whimsical, or even for pure {{sadist}}ic amusement, ''especially'' when he's drunk. From killing without provocation to explosive outbursts, his unpredictable and dangerous behavior, coupled with a lack of discretion, [[spoiler:prompts TheMafia itself to decide to take him out]].

* AxCrazy: His randomly violent and {{sadist}}ic personality is largely whimsical, even done for amusement, ''especially'' when he's drunk. From killing without provocation to explosive outbursts, his unpredictable and dangerous behavior, coupled with a lack of discretion, [[spoiler:prompts TheMafia itself to decide to take him out]].

* AxCrazy: His randomly violent and {{sadist}}ic personality is largely whimsical, even done for amusement. From killing without provocation to explosive outbursts, his unpredictable and dangerous behavior, coupled with a lack of discretion, [[spoiler:prompts TheMafia itself to decide to take him out]].

* AxCrazy: As the most violent and sadistic character Joe Pesci has ever played, the man is utterly unpredictable, [[HairTriggerTemper reacts violently to any provocation]], [[DisproportionateRetribution kills for relatively petty reasons]], and had Billy Batts brutally murdered by beating him bloody and then stabbing him multiple times.

* TheDreaded: ''Big'' time, even to his friends. Just look at how silent Henry and company went when they thought he got angry with Henry. Subverted in that despite his fearsome reputation, he's still just a low-level {{Mook}} in the grand scheme of things, to the point where [[spoiler: the big bosses think nothing of rubbing him out when he gets too far out of line.]]

* PsychopathicManchild: Even ''more'' than Henry. Alongside his penchant for violent outbursts, Tommy exhibits a highly impulsive personality, frequently making hasty judgments without considering the consequences. In essence, his behavior mirrors that of an irate, narcissistic teenager rather than a grown adult. Moreover, the harsh treatment of Spider reflects more of a juvenile sadism than genuine anger.

* PsychopathicManchild: Definitely. In addition to being prone to violent tantrums, Tommy possesses [[HairTriggerTemper a highly impulsive personality]] which often leads him to make rash judgments with little forethought of the consequences. In short, he's behaving less like a grown adult and more like an angry, {{narcissist}}ic teenager. And the cruel treatment of Spider is more childish sadism than actual anger.

* PsychopathicManchild: Downplayed, but definitely there. Henry's motivation for becoming a gangster is to [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster live in riches, earn respect, and do whatever the hell he wants without getting punished for it]], deriding people who work for a living as "schnooks". When he has to go into witness protection, the only thing he's sad about is losing his money and status.

* TheSociopath: A downplayed example as Jimmy is '''[[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes able]]''' to feel empathy, even if this empathy is not very developed. The real Jimmy, on the contrary, was much worse.

* TheDon: He's the top-ranking mafioso of the movie, so powerful that he's a Don in all but name, with hundreds of people depending on him. It's {{downplayed}} in that he's just a captain for the Lucchese family.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Does not approve of Henry dealing drugs. Although it's less 'drugs are wrong,' and more about how the feds crack down harsher on drug dealers and bring down people connected to them. Paulie doesn't want to take the risk.

** He forbids Henry from dealing drugs. While he tells Henry that selling drugs in prison is understandable, as he had to do what he could, dealing in the open could bring a lot of unwanted attention to them.

Another one of Henry's friends with a hair-trigger temper.

* EvilGenius: He is the mastermind behind the Lufthansa heist, after all.
** Henry narrates early on how, when the authorities get wind of Jimmy's hijacking enterprise and escalate police investigations on him, he turns the police into partners by buying them off.

* ColdBloodedTorture: Practically, the brutal murder of Billy Batts is this, [[FridgeHorror especially considering that he did not die until Tommy stabbed him with a knife.]]

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Is opposed to interracial relationships, despite earlier complaining that his would-be girlfriend is prejudiced against Italians.

* BigBad: Ultimately the main antagonist of the movie. He is also the one who raised Henry in TheMafia and the mastermind behind the Lufthansa heist.

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: He's depicted as AffablyEvil and a likable capo. Henry Hill explains him away as "protection for wiseguys among themselves." Mobster Paul Vario - his RealLife counterpart - had more direct involvement in the nastier (and bloodier) crimes committed by his crew. In ''Wiseguy'' (the book the film was based on), Hill recalled seeing Vario attack a barmaid with a baseball bat after she informed his wife they were having an affair. In another instance, Vario was so livid that he sent his men to assault a restaurant's workers after the head waiter spilt wine over his wife and used a dirty rag to clean up the mess. ''Wiseguy'' author Nicholas Pileggi writes, "He abhorred unnecessary violence (the kind he hadn't ordered), [[PragmaticVillainy mainly because it was bad for business]]." Vario also had an affair with Henry's wife, something that's never even hinted at in the movie.

* OnlySaneMan: Of the major gangsters we meet, he is easily the most level-headed, treating his work as a legitimate business to be taken seriously. He lacks Henry's hedonism and immature view of mafia life, Jimmy's greed and recklessness and Tommy's violent temper and need to prove himself.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/henryhillgoodfellas.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350: ''"For us, to live any other way was nuts. To us, those goody-good people who worked shitty jobs for bum paychecks...and took the subway to work and worried about bills, were dead. They were suckers. They had no balls. If we wanted something, we just took it."'']]

->''"One day, some neighborhood kids carried my mother's groceries all the way home. You know why? It was out of respect."''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jimmythegentconwaygoodfellas.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350: ''"I'm proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man, and learned the two greatest things in life. Never rat on your friends...and always keep your mouth shut."'']]

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/16254_7534.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320: ''"Don't make a jerk of me. Just don't do it. Don't do it."'']]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/joe_pesci_funny_how_speech_goodfellas.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: ''"Funny how? How am I funny?"'']]

* ButtMonkey=/=TheChewToy: Appears in two scenes, in one he is injured, in the other killed.

!Main Characters

[[folder:Tommy [=DeVito=]]]
!!Tommy [=DeVito=]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/joe_pesci_funny_how_speech_goodfellas.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: ''"Funny how? How am I funny?"'']]
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/JoePesci, Joseph D'Onofrio (young)

->''"There was nothing we could do. Batts was a Made Man and Tommy wasn't."''

Another one of Henry's friends with a hair-trigger temper.

!Supporting Cast

[[folder:Paul "Paulie" Cicero]]
!!Paul "Paulie" Cicero
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/16254_7534.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320: ''"Don't make a jerk of me. Just don't do it. Don't do it."'']]
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/PaulSorvino

->''"Paulie might have moved slow... but it was only because Paulie didn't have to move for ''anybody''."''

A capo in the Lucchese family who takes Henry under his wing.

* AdaptationalNameChange: He was Paul Vario in real life.
* AffablyEvil: He's a very smooth and charismatic person and comes off as a father figure, especially to Henry.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Hates and refuses to own or use a phone, and dislikes large meetings, but is still a very capable capo. These idiosyncrasies help him avoid the cops, as the circle of people he tells things to is very small, and the cops have no phone to wiretap.
* DeathGlare: When Sonny Bunz casually suggests whacking Tommy, Paulie shoots daggers at him.
* TheDon: He's the top-ranking mafioso of the movie, so powerful that he's a Don in all but name, with hundreds of people depending on him. It's {{downplayed}} in that he's just a captain for the Lucchese family.
* TheDreaded: Downplayed, but everyone knows not to get on his bad side. His first scene has a group of gangsters messing around before going dead quiet when he shows up.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Does not approve of Henry dealing drugs. Although it's less 'drugs are wrong,' and more about how the feds crack down harsher on drug dealers and bring down people connected to them. Paulie doesn't want to take the risk.
* FamilyValuesVillain: He's a crime boss, but is a good husband and father who makes Henry move back in with Karen and dismisses the idea of them getting divorced by saying "we're not animals".
* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: He's depicted as AffablyEvil and a likable capo. Henry Hill explains him away as "protection for wiseguys among themselves." Mobster Paul Vario - his RealLife counterpart - had more direct involvement in the nastier (and bloodier) crimes committed by his crew. In ''Wiseguy'' (the book the film was based on), Hill recalled seeing Vario attack a barmaid with a baseball bat after she informed his wife they were having an affair. In another instance, Vario was so livid that he sent his men to assault a restaurant's workers after the head waiter spilt wine over his wife and used a dirty rag to clean up the mess. ''Wiseguy'' author Nicholas Pileggi writes, "He abhorred unnecessary violence (the kind he hadn't ordered), [[PragmaticVillainy mainly because it was bad for business]]." Vario also had an affair with Henry's wife, something that's never even hinted at in the movie.
* HonoraryUncle: 'Uncle' Paulie and the offspring of the wiseguys have a very avuncular relationship.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: He trusts Henry to tell him the truth explicitly, both in being in the drug trade or not and the whereabouts of Batts. Henry's lying on both counts. When he finds out about Henry's drug business that he was running behind Paulie's back, Paulie is legitimately heartbroken.
* LargeAndInCharge: Tall, heavyset, and a capo. It follows.
* TheLeader: {{Subverted|Trope}}. Paul Cicero wasn't the leader of the Lucchese Family. He was a caporegime, which is a mid-level rank. He's just the highest-ranked character involved in the plot.
* NormalFishInATinyPond: Cicero is a mere capo rather than [[TheDon the boss]], [[TheDragon the underboss]], or {{the consigliere}} of the Lucchese family, but he is still the most powerful mafia member that appears in the story.
* OnlySaneMan: Of the major gangsters we meet, he is easily the most level-headed, treating his work as a legitimate business to be taken seriously. He lacks Henry's hedonism and immature view of mafia life, Jimmy's greed and recklessness and Tommy's violent temper and need to prove himself.
* ParentalSubstitute: Henry sees Paul as a better father figure than his [[AbusiveParents own father.]] When Paul disowns him for lying about his drug deals, it became one of the few key factors that caused Henry to rat.
* PragmaticVillainy: Paulie runs a tight ship and tries to cut down on any excesses that could cause trouble.
** Downplayed with his request to have Henry go back to Karen. While he agrees with Jimmy that Karen breaking it off could make her a liability, he also wants Henry to stay for his daughters' sake.
** He forbids Henry from dealing drugs. While he tells Henry that selling drugs in prison is understandable, as he had to do what he could, dealing in the open could bring a lot of unwanted attention to them.
** While he thinks Tommy's a good kid, he warns Henry about associating with him and Jimmy. Jimmy's too ambitious and in for himself, while Tommy's reckless and crazy.
* ProperlyParanoid: Paulie goes to great lengths to avoid getting pinched by the cops, only giving orders in one-on-one situations and refusing to ever use a phone. He also orders his underlings to never deal drugs, as it adds greater risk of getting pinched for everyone. His downfall is that they didn’t listen to him.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: As close as you would get in the Mafia. He trusts his men implicitly, and when he is forced to turn his back on Henry for dealing drugs, he is more hurt than angry.
* SoProudOfYou: After the heist from JFK Airport, Henry pays a large tribute of it to Paulie. Paulie says he's proud of how far Henry's come in life and gives him a hug.
* TheStoic: Paulie is always quiet and reserved and keeps his cards close to his chest.
* TaughtByExperience: He's very aware that drugs can bring the whole thing down because he knows of a fellow old wiseguy who was arrested just for greeting some drug dealer, or so Paulie says. He also has an aversion to telephones and personal meetings, hinting he knows about wiretapping and criminal conspiracy cases.
* WhereAreTheyNow: The epilogue states that he died in 1988 while still in prison.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:William "Billy Batts" Bentvena]]
!!William "Billy Batts" Bentvena
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dd0a1d470334c57b960032ca87d6d122650x694x1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300: ''"If I was gonna break your balls, I'd say, 'Go get your shine box'."'']]
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/FrankVincent

->''"Batts was part of the Gambino crew and considered untouchable. Before you touched a made guy, you needed a good reason. You had to get an okay... or you'd get whacked."''

A Made Man in the Gambino crew who comes into conflict with Tommy.
----

* ButtMonkey: Appears in two scenes, in one he is injured, in the other killed.

* TheChewToy: InUniverse is seen like this.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Jimmy finally decides to try to set up Henry to get whacked, he does so by offering him a job to perform a killing in Florida. Since Jimmy had previously never asked Henry to do this for him [[ThouShaltNotKill due to his aversion to killing]], this was the final push Henry needed to become an informant for the FBI.

* JerkassHasAPoint: He's right when he points out what a stupid idea it is to start buying expensive cars and fur coats just after a huge heist with everybody watching them.

* ManlyTears: When he finds out Tommy's been killed.

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: He's depicted as AffablyEvil and a likable capo. Henry Hill explains him away as "protection for wiseguys among themselves." Mobster Paul Vario - his RealLife counterpart - had more direct involvement in the nastier (and bloodier) crimes committed by his crew. In ''Wiseguy'' (the book the film was based on), Hill recalled seeing Vario attack a barmaid with a baseball bat after she informed his wife they were having an affair. ''Wiseguy'' author Nicholas Pileggi writes, "He abhorred unnecessary violence (the kind he hadn't ordered), [[PragmaticVillainy mainly because it was bad for business]]." Vario also had an affair with Henry's wife, something that's never even hinted at in the movie.