Steven Vincent Buscemi ( ,Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself. It is common for people to pronounce his name or instead. ; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor. His accolades include two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Independent Spirit Awards.
Buscemi started his acting career with the independent productions Parting Glances (1986), Mystery Train (1989), and In the Soup (1992), followed by his breakthrough role as Mr. Pink in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992). The 1990 film Miller's Crossing marked his first of many projects with the Coen brothers, and the 1994 film Airheads was his first collaboration with comedic actor-filmmaker Adam Sandler. Throughout the 1990s, he continued to appear in a number of both independent and mainstream films, including Billy Madison, Living in Oblivion, Desperado (all 1995), Fargo (1996), Con Air (1997), Armageddon, The Big Lebowski (both 1998). In following decades, he starred in films Ghost World (2001), Mr. Deeds, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (both 2002), Big Fish (2003), Grown Ups (2010), The Death of Stalin (2017), and Hubie Halloween (2020), alongside voice roles in the animated Monsters, Inc. (2001, 2013) and Hotel Transylvania film series (2012–2022).
Buscemi's career expanded into television, debuting with his first major role in the 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove. He received his first two Emmy nominations for starring in and directing episodes of The Sopranos (2004–2006), before winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for portraying Enoch "Nucky" Thompson in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014). His other television credits include 30 Rock (2007–2013), Horace and Pete (2016), and Miracle Workers (2019–2023). He won a News & Documentary Emmy Award in 2015 for his work with Independent Lens and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series the following year for his web talk show Park Bench with Steve Buscemi. Aside from acting, Buscemi has also directed the films Trees Lounge (1996), Animal Factory (2000), and Interview (2007), as well as a number of television episodes.
Early life and education Steven Vincent Buscemi was born on December 13, 1957, in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, to Dorothy (née Wilson) and John Buscemi. His father was a sanitation worker and served in the Korean War, and his mother was a hostess at Howard Johnson's. Buscemi's paternal ancestors were from the Sicilian town of Menfi and his mother is of English and Dutch ancestry. He has three brothers: Jon, Ken, and Michael. Buscemi was raised Catholic.
When Buscemi was 10 years old, the family moved from East New York to Valley Stream in Nassau County. Buscemi graduated in 1975 from Valley Stream Central High School along with future writer Edward J. Renehan Jr. and future actress Patricia Charbonneau. In high school, Buscemi wrestled for the varsity squad and participated in the drama troupe. (Buscemi's 1996 film Trees Lounge, in which he starred and served as screenwriter and director, is set in and was largely shot in his childhood village of Valley Stream.)Delatiner, Barbara. "Cinema Arts Film Festival Stresses the Independents"; , The New York Times, June 1, 1997. Retrieved November 1, 2007. In 1977, Buscemi took the New York City Firefighter's exam and joined Engine Company 55, fighting fires for four years. Following the September 11 attacks, he temporarily rejoined Engine Company 55 to serve at the site of the World Trade Center.
Career 1985–1989: Early roles Before making his film debut, Buscemi was a regular live performer at the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge and other downtown no wave venues. For many years, he performed comic skits with Mark Boone Junior. In 1988, they presented as a duo called Buscemi and Boone an evening of original black comedy at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club that they called In Your Mind, with one extended playlet titled Two Americans in Paris. Two Americans in Paris was set in Paris in the 1960s and portrayed manipulative confrontations between two young American men in a bistro. Prominent solo performances were given in John Jesurun's Chang in a Void Moon series, as well as appearing in an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus, directed by Kęstutis Nakas. Buscemi made his film debut in the 1985 film The Way It Is or Eurydice in the Avenues, directed by Eric Mitchell, which was part of the no wave cinema movement. Other early performances include a role in the Christine Vachon-directed short Days Are Numbered (1986), Parting Glances (1986) as well as an appearance in an episode of the television series Miami Vice in 1986. During this period of time, Buscemi auditioned for and lost out on a number of roles including Biloxi Blues (1986), Tin Men (1987), and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).Steve Buscemi Winter 1993 Bomb Magazine Interview
In 1989, he appeared in four films, including James Ivory's comedy Slaves of New York, Howard Brookner's ensemble period film Bloodhounds of Broadway and the New York Stories segment directed by Martin Scorsese entitled, "Life Lessons" starring alongside Nick Nolte and Rosanna Arquette. The film screened out of competition at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival to mixed reviews with the Scorsese segment being hailed as the standout by Roger Ebert. Buscemi also appeared in Jim Jarmusch's independent film Mystery Train (1989) as Charlie the Barber, and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male.
1990–1998: Rise to prominence
In 1990, he played Mink Larouie in the Coen Brothers' neo-noir gangster film Millers Crossing starring opposite Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, and John Turturro. This was the first of five of the Coen Brothers' films in which Buscemi performed. Critic Roger Ebert described the film as one that "is likely to be most appreciated by movie lovers who will enjoy its resonance with films of the past." Also that year, he starred as Test Tube, a henchman of Laurence Fishburne's character Jimmy Jump in Abel Ferrara's crime film King of New York, as well as Edward in the anthology film Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, the protagonist of the "Lot 249" segment of the film. In 1991, he played a bellboy, Chet, in the Coen Brothers film black comedy Barton Fink starring John Turturro and John Goodman. His first lead role was as Adolpho Rollo in Alexandre Rockwell's In the Soup (1992).
He gained wider attention for his supporting part as pseudonymous criminal Mr. Pink in Quentin Tarantino's crime film Reservoir Dogs (1992), a role that Tarantino originally wrote for himself, and one that earned Buscemi the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male in his second nomination. Also in 1992, he had a guest role as Phil Hickle, Ellen's father and older Pete's guidance counselor, in The Adventures of Pete and Pete. The following year, he starred as the eponymous character in the horror comedy film Ed and His Dead Mother (1993).
He also appeared in a cameo appearance in Tarantino's next film, Pulp Fiction, where he portrays a waiter dressed as Buddy Holly who serves Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega."The Secrets of 'Pulp Fiction': 20 Things You Didn't Know About the Movie on Its 20th Anniversary" . The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 15, 2017. In 1994, he appeared in the 1994 comedy Airheads as Rex, bass player of The Lone Rangers. In 1995, Buscemi guest-starred as suspected murderer Gordon Pratt in "End Game", an episode of the television series Homicide: Life on the Street. 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.Moviemansguide.com review of Batman Begins by Andy Hoglund In 1995 he also starred alongside Tarantino and Antonio Banderas in Desperado, and played the lead role in the independent satire film Living in Oblivion.
The next year, Buscemi again collaborated with the Coen Brothers, starring as kidnapper Carl Showalter in the black comedy crime film Fargo starring Frances McDormand and William H. Macy. The film was a critical and commercial success debuting at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or. Subsequently, he gained a reputation as character actor, with supporting roles in blockbuster action films: as Garland Greene in Simon West's Con Air (1997) and Rockhound in Michael Bay's Armageddon (1998). Buscemi also appeared as Donny in the Coen's cult classic black comedy film The Big Lebowski (1998) starring Jeff Bridges and John Goodman. Also in 1998 he played a supporting role in the romantic comedy The Wedding Singer starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. During this time he also made his directing debut the episode: "Finnegan's Wake" (1998) of the NBC drama Homicide: Life on the Street. From 1999 to 2001 he also directed two episodes of HBO prison drama Oz.
1999–2008: The Sopranos In 1999 he acted alongside Adam Sandler in the comedy Big Daddy (1999). Going into the 2000s, Buscemi continued to co-star in supporting roles. He played Seymour in the black comedy Ghost World (2001) opposite Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch. The film received critical acclaim with critic Roger Ebert declaring, "The Buscemi role is one he's been pointing toward during his entire career". Buscemi received numerous nominations for his performance including for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. In 2001 he voiced Randall Boggs in Pixar's animated film Monsters, Inc. (2001). The film was a critical and financial success. He also extensively performed voice-over work for animated films reprising the role of Randall in its prequel Monsters University (2013), Mr. Wesley in Home on the Range (2004), Nebbercracker in Monster House (2006) and Templeton the Rat in Charlotte's Web. During this time he also took the supporting role as Romero in the children's action adventure film Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002), as well as its sequel Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003).
In 2004, Buscemi joined the cast of the acclaimed HBO crime television series The Sopranos as Tony Soprano's cousin and childhood friend, Tony Blundetto, a role that earned him an Emmy Award nomination. 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". 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.
Buscemi appeared in the music video for Joe Strummer's cover version of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song". During this time Buscemi acted in several comedy films often starring Adam Sandler in films such as Mr. Deeds (2002), I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007), Grown Ups (2010), and opposite Chris Rock I Think I Love My Wife (2007). He also starred in numerous critically acclaimed independent drama films such as the Tim Burton fantasy drama Big Fish (2003), the Jim Jarmusch film Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), the John Turturro romantic drama Romance & Cigarettes (2005), the anthology film Paris, je t'aime (2006), the war drama The Messenger (2009), and the romantic comedy Youth in Revolt (2009). He also directed the comedy drama films Lonesome Jim (2005), and Interview (2007), while also serving as an executive producer for the film Saint John of Las Vegas (2009). During this time he continued to voice roles in films such as Monster House (2006), Igor (2008), G-Force (2009), and Hotel Transylvania (2012).
2009–2015: Boardwalk Empire