Martin Scorsese Says He Wishes He 'Had the Chance' to See Ray Liotta 'Just Once More'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 03: Director-producer Martin Scorsese attends the 20th Annual AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 03, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for AFI); NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 04: Actor Ray Liotta from Warner Bros. Pictures' "The Many Saints of Newark" attends Deadline Contenders Film: New York on December 04, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Deadline)
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Amy Sussman/Getty for AFI; Jamie McCarthy/Getty for Deadline

Martin Scorsese is remembering his friend and collaborator Ray Liotta.

Over a week after the actor died at age 67 late last month, Scorsese, 79, penned an op-ed for The Guardian, published Monday, about working with the late star, and how he wishes he and Liotta worked together more.

After sharing details about the behind-the-scenes process of working with Liotta on Goodfellas, which Scorsese directed, the Oscar winner said he and Liotta "had many plans to work together again but the timing was always off, or the project wasn't quite right."

"I regret that now," Scorsese continued, before noting how Liotta's role in the 2019 film Marriage Story made him want to work with the star again "at this point in his life." He explained it would allow him "to explore the gravity in his presence, so different from the young, sprightly actor he was when I met him."

Added Scorsese: "I wish I'd had the chance to see him just once more, too — to tell him just how much the work we did together meant to me. But maybe he knew that. I hope so."

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Bei/Shutterstock (5135882b) Ray Liotta and Martin Scorsese Screening of 'Goodfellas' September 17, 1990 - Los Angeles, CA. Ray Liotta and director Martin Scorsese . Warner Bros hosts screening of GOODFELLAS. Photo by: Berliner Studio/BEImages
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Bei/Shutterstock (5135882b) Ray Liotta and Martin Scorsese Screening of 'Goodfellas' September 17, 1990 - Los Angeles, CA. Ray Liotta and director Martin Scorsese . Warner Bros hosts screening of GOODFELLAS. Photo by: Berliner Studio/BEImages

Bei/Shutterstock

RELATED: Sigourney Weaver Remembers Her Late Heartbreakers Costar Ray Liotta: 'A Doll to Work with'

Liotta died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic in May, PEOPLE previously confirmed. He was engaged to Jacy Nittolo and was also dad to daughter Karsen, 23, with ex-wife Michelle Grace. A source told PEOPLE no foul play is suspected in his death and that Nittolo was with him when he died.

Nittolo released a statement on Instagram, paying tribute to her late fiancé alongside a series of shots of the pair from over the years.

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"My life these past couple of years have been nothing but truly magical. Ray and I share a deep love that I will cherish in my heart forever," she wrote in her heartfelt post. "We laughed daily and we were inseparable. The chemistry was wild in the best way."

Then writing that Liotta "was everything in the world to me," Nittolo continued, "We couldn't get enough of each other. The kind of real love that one dreams of." She concluded, "He was the most beautiful person inside and out that I've ever known … and even that is an understatement."

RELATED VIDEO: Jamie Lee Curtis, Lorraine Bracco, Taron Egerton and More React to Ray Liotta's Death: 'Shattered'

Scorsese previously remembered Liotta in a moving statement to PEOPLE after his death, saying, "I'm absolutely shocked and devastated by the sudden, unexpected death of Ray Liotta. He was so uniquely gifted, so adventurous, so courageous as an actor."

"Playing Henry Hill in Goodfellas was a tall order, because the character had so many different facets, so many complicated layers, and Ray was in almost every scene of a long, tough shoot," Scorsese continued. "He absolutely amazed me, and I'll always be proud of the work we did together on that picture. My heart goes out to his loved ones, and it aches for his loss, way too early."

Sigourney Weaver, who previously starred with Liotta in Heartbreakers, told PEOPLE last week that her former costar was "a true original."

"Loaded with charm and physical ease, Ray was a natural in comedy and just a doll to work with. We had such a good time," the actress, 72, added of their work in the 2001 crime rom-com, which also starred Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Aside from Scorsese and Weaver, Liotta's past costars Jennifer LopezKevin CostnerJamie Lee Curtis and more also expressed their condolences and grief over the loss of the actor as well.