Jimmy Conway was unarguably one of Goodfellas’ most memorable characters. The Martin Scorsese 1990 biographical crime drama is considered one of the greatest gangster movies ever made. With Jimmy Conway as one of its lead characters, Goodfellas was both critically acclaimed and a box-office success.
Although not a Box Office juggernaut, grossing $47.1 million against a production budget of $25 million, Goodfellas received six Academy Awards nominations. Included in these nominations were Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor (with Joe Pesci winning). Goodfellas made a big impression on critics and audiences. It was included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2000 when it became eligible for selection. Here’s everything to know about Goodfellas’ Jimmy Conway’s character.
Jimmy Conway’s Role in Goodfellas
From the start of Goodfellas, Irish-American James “Jimmy” Conway is depicted as a cool and calculating criminal who enjoys the thrill of organized crime. Jimmy is an associate of the Lucchese crime family. He’s introduced to a young Henry Hill by Paulie Cicero, with Henry quickly seeing Jimmy as a role model. To Henry, Jimmy embodied everything glamorous about mob life—the money, the power, and the respect. However, behind the glamor, money splashes, and designer suits, Jimmy’s specialty is hijacking trucks. He thrives as a hijacker because of his known generosity. Whether to his associates or law enforcement, Jimmy is always willing to share the spoils of his heists, earning him loyalty and fear in equal measure.
However, underneath his charms lies a dark side. Jimmy is willing to do anything to protect himself and his interests, with murder being the least of his atrocities. He joins Tommy DeVito in beating, stabbing, and killing a Made Man, Billy Batts. He not only assists in burying Billy in Upstate New York, he also joins in exhuming and relocating the decomposing body six months later. Against Paulie’s orders, Jimmy orchestrates the infamous December 11, 1978, Lufthansa heist. While the heist is a massive success, netting millions of dollars, it also marked the beginning of the end for Jimmy and his crew.
Paranoid about loose ends, Jimmy eliminates anyone he suspects might talk to the authorities or draw unnecessary attention. By 1980, Henry had a cocaine addiction and was arrested by narcotics officers. Jimmy considers him a threat and deems him a loose end. Left with no other option, Henry seeks protection from the FBI by becoming an informant. With Henry Hill cooperating with the authorities, Jimmy’s fate is sealed when Henry testifies against him. Closing subtitles revealed Jimmy was eligible for parole in 2004.
Jimmy Conway Was Based On A Real-life Gangster
Martin Scorsese’s Jimmy Conway character was based on the real-life gangster James Burke. Goodfellas was adapted from American crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi’s 1985 non-fiction book Wiseguy. Although the book centered on Henry Hill, just as the movie did, it also chronicles the crimes of James Burke. Although Martin Scorsese altered the characters’ names in the film, both Jimmy and the real James Burke were nicknamed “The Gent.”
James Burke was notorious in the New York City underworld during the 1960s and 1970s. As portrayed in Goodfellas, Burke was involved in organized crime, particularly with the Lucchese crime family. James Burke’s criminal career was marked by a series of high-profile crimes. As portrayed in the movie, Burke orchestrated the infamous Lufthansa heist at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1978. The heist, with $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry netted, is still one of the largest cash robberies in American history.
In Goodfellas, Burke’s story ends by stating he’s ineligible for parole until 2004. With the movie released in 1990, 2004 was 14 years away. In real life, Burke died eight years before he was eligible for parole. James Burke died in prison from cancer on April 13, 1996. Burke developed cancer while serving in Alden, New York’s Wende Correctional Facility. He was being treated at Buffalo’s Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. James Burke was buried in New York at the Saint Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale.
Who Played Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas?
Robert De Niro played Jimmy Conway in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. The two-time Academy Award-winning actor was 47 years old when the movie was released. In 1980, when the real-life James Burke was arrested, Burke was 49. Robert De Niro’s portrayal of the real-life James Burke was exceptional. Although his performance didn’t receive a nod from the Oscars, it is still regarded as one of Robert De Niro’s strongest career performances. Over two decades after Robert De Niro portrayed Jimmy Conway, here’s what the rest of the Goodfellas cast has been up to.
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