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Michael Imperioli is recalling his first time meeting Robert De Niro on the set of Goodfellas<\/em> when he was just 23 years old<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n The actor explained how director Martin Scorsese encouraged actors to stay in character on and off camera during filming<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Imperioli served De Niro a scotch in character to avoid intimidating the legendary actor with fan-like behavior<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Michael Imperioli <\/a>says he still remembers the first time he met Robert De Niro<\/a> \u2014 and their atypical introduction to one another.<\/p>\n Imperioli, now 60, was just 23, when he began filming 1990’s Goodfellas<\/em><\/a> with De Niro, now 82.<\/p>\n Speaking at a recent event with Sofia Coppola at New York City’s Cherry Lane Theatre<\/a>, Imperioli recalled how director Martin Scorsese encouraged actors to remain in character even when the film wasn’t being shot.<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s <\/strong>free daily newsletter<\/strong><\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n “He said, ‘My trailer’s over here. If you have any questions, come and see me,’ ” Imperioli recalled of the director. “And he said, ‘Just one thing I ask. Treat the actors like the characters on and off camera.’ Which made it much more easy for me because it wasn’t just an actor intimidated by his heroes or whatever.”<\/p>\n Check out PEOPLE’s weekly giveaway:<\/strong> Win a Yoto Player package valued at $260 only on the PEOPLE app<\/strong><\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n Imperioli went on to recount the first time De Niro walked on to the set.<\/p>\n “So, it’s the first time I’m ever seeing Robert De Niro in person, and he sat down,” the actor recalled. “I walked up to him and I just said … ‘Jimmy, what are you drinking?’ And he looked like [confused], and then he kind of realized, and he went, ‘Shot of scotch, a glass of water.’ “<\/p>\n Imperioli continued: “And I brought him a shot of scotch which I poured at the bar and a glass of water … the last thing he wants is, like, some young actor going, ‘I loved you in Raging Bull,’ you know, he wants to do his work.”<\/p>\n The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The Martin Scorsese<\/a> film was an adaptation of Nicholas Pileggi’s book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family<\/em>. The 1990 crime epic follows Henry Hill (Ray Liotta<\/a>), a Brooklyn kid whose idealization of the gangsters in his Italian-American neighborhood leads to his rise through the Mafia ranks before he turns FBI informant.<\/p>\n Goodfellas<\/em> went on to receive six Academy Award<\/a> nominations, with much of its acclaim attributed to the actors’ powerhouse performances. The star-studded cast featured Scorsese regulars such as Liotta, De Niro and Joe Pesci<\/a> (who took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), as well as Lorraine Bracco<\/a> and other familiar faces in the genre.<\/p>\n