Steve Buscemi

Acting

Steve Buscemi made his film debut in the 1985 The Way It Is, directed by Eric Mitchell and produced by No Wave Cinema. His other early films include Parting Glances (1986), Slaves of New York (1988), and Tales from the Darkside, a 1990 film in three segments. Buscemi starred in the first segment, playing Bellingham, a college student who orders a mummy and unleashes it on fellow college students (played by Christian Slater and Julianne Moore). In 1990 Buscemi had additional crime roles. He played the henchman of Laurence Fishburne named Test Tube in Abel Ferrara's King of New York.

He also played Mink in the Coen Brothers' Millers Crossing. Although he had to audition twice for this role,^[9] it marked the first of five of the Coen Brothers' films in which Buscemi performed. Before his work with the Coen Brothers, he appeared in Jim Jarmusch's anthology film Mystery Train, released in 1989, for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Male.^[10]

Buscemi in 1996

In 1991, he played the bellboy, Chet, in the Coen Brothers film Barton Fink. His first lead role was as Adolpho Rollo in Alexandre Rockwell's In the Soup (1992).^[11] He gained wider attention as Mr. Pink in Quentin Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs (1992), a role that Tarantino wrote for himself.^[9] He also appeared in Tarantino's next film, Pulp Fiction, in which he acts as a waiter at the 1950s-themed restaurant patronized by Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega. In 1995, Buscemi played suspected cop-shooter Gordon Pratt in the episode "End Game" at the end of a three-episode arc of Homicide: Life on the Street. He also had a role as Phil Hickle, Ellen's father and older Pete's guidance counselor, in The Adventures of Pete and Pete, as well as guest-starring in Miami Vice in 1986.^[12][13] Buscemi was rumored to be considered for the role of The Scarecrow in Joel Schumacher's proposed fifth installment of the first Batman franchise, Batman Unchained, before Warner Bros. cancelled the project.^[14]

Buscemi's other most notable character roles include Carl Showalter in Fargo, Garland Greene in Con Air, Donny in The Big Lebowski, Rockhound in Armageddon, Seymour in Ghost World (for which he won several awards), Randall Boggs in Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University, Romero in Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, Norther Winslow in Big Fish, Mr. Wesley in Home on the Range, Mr. Horace Nebbercracker in Monster House, Templeton the Rat in Charlotte's Web, Scamper in Igor and Wayne in Hotel Transylvania and Hotel Transylvania 2.^[15][16][17]

Buscemi often plays characters who are neurotic and paranoid. He has frequently appeared in Adam Sandler films, such as Airheads, Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy, Mr. Deeds, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Grown Ups, Grown Ups 2, and The Cobbler^[18] and has regularly worked with Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Jim Jarmusch, Robert Rodriguez, and Michael Bay.

He has said of his work,

"I don't think of myself as having a career. I think of having jobs. When I work, I want to have good jobs. I want to do interesting films. I also want to make a living. You don't always work on the things that you can put your heart into, so it's good to work on things that you can get into one hundred percent."^[9]

Buscemi at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2002 Buscemi contributed to Lou Reed's concept album The Raven with the song "Broadway Song", and poems "Old Poe" and "The Cask". In 2003 Buscemi made a brief celebrity guest appearance as himself on the long-running Fox animated television show The Simpsons, in the episode "Brake My Wife, Please". Most recently, Buscemi provided the voice for Dwight, a bank robber whom Marge Simpson befriends, in "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", which originally aired on October 14, 2007.^[19]

In 2004 Buscemi joined the cast of The Sopranos as Tony Soprano's cousin and childhood friend, Tony Blundetto, a role that earned him an Emmy Award nomination.^[20] Buscemi had previously contributed to the show as director of the third-season episode "Pine Barrens", which was one of the most critically acclaimed episodes of the series, and the fourth-season episode "Everybody Hurts".^[21] He appeared in episode three of season 6 as a doorman in the afterlife, which is portrayed as a country club in Tony Soprano's dream. He also directed the episodes "In Camelot", the seventh episode of season 5, and "Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request...", the fifth episode of season 6. As well, he appeared in the music video for Joe Strummer's cover version of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song".^[22]

Buscemi starred in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, as Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (based on Enoch L. Johnson), a corrupt Atlantic City politician who rules the town during the Prohibition era. He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama for the role. In 2011 he hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live.^[23][24]

He hosts, directs, and produces his own web series talk show, Park Bench, which debuted in May 2014.^[25] In January 2016, Buscemi began co-starring alongside Louis C.K. in C.K.'s comedy-drama web series Horace and Pete.^[26]

Directing

Buscemi has also worked as a director, making his directing debut in the 1990s. His directorial credits include:

• What Happened to Pete (1992) (short film)
• Trees Lounge (1996)
• Animal Factory (2000)
• Lonesome Jim (2005)
• Interview (2007)

In addition to feature films, he directed episodes of the television shows Homicide: Life on the Street; four episodes of The Sopranos, including one of the most critically acclaimed episodes: "Pine Barrens"; as well as two episodes of HBO's prison-drama series Oz, entitled "U.S. Male" and "Cuts Like a Knife". He has also directed two episodes of 30 Rock ("Retreat to Move Forward" and "Leap Day"), and six episodes of Showtime's Nurse Jackie. In the latter, his brother Michael played the character God in several episodes. While scouting a location for a film, Buscemi visited the Philadelphia Eastern State Penitentiary and found the building so interesting that he later provided the majority of the narration for the audio tour there.^[27][28]

Image

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Buscemi was adamant about not altering his famously misaligned teeth, saying, "I've had dentists who have wanted to help me out, but I say, 'You know, I won't work again if you fix my teeth.'"^[29][30] Buscemi is noted for wrinkles around his eyes, giving them an aged appearance. "Buscemi eyes" describes the result when his eyes are photoshopped onto others' faces. He does not find it amusing, while his wife does.^[31]

Buscemi guest-starred in season 6 episode 7 of 30 Rock as a private investigator. Playing against his image, during a flashback he appears to be disguised as a teenager as he says that he was "part of a special task force of very young-looking cops who infiltrated high schools".^[32][33]

Accolades