In "Goodfellas", what character did Robert De Niro portray?

In Goodfellas, Robert De Niro portrayed Jimmy Conway, also known as James “Jimmy” Conway.

Released in 1990 and directed by Martin Scorsese, Goodfellas follows Henry Hill’s rise through and eventual break from organized crime. De Niro plays Conway as an experienced, calculating mobster who becomes a powerful figure in the crew surrounding Hill and Tommy DeVito.

The character is based primarily on real-life gangster James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke, whose criminal career included the 1978 Lufthansa heist at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The film changes names and details, partly because it is adapted from Nicholas Pileggi’s nonfiction book Wiseguy.

Viewers sometimes confuse De Niro’s role with Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito or Ray Liotta’s Henry Hill. De Niro and Pesci had previously worked together in Raging Bull, and their volatile partnership is one of Goodfellas’ central dynamics.