Steve Buscemi
history| birthplace = Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | birthname = Steven Vincent Buscemi | othername = | occupation = Actor/Writer/Director | yearsactive = 1985–present | spouse = Jo Andres (1987-present) 1 child | website = }}
Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi (, by the actor himself, but commonly , by others; Click the "Listen" link. born December 13, 1957) is an American actor, writer and film director.
Early life
Steve Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Dorothy, who worked as a hostess at Howard Johnson's, and John Buscemi, a sanitation worker and Korean War veteran. Buscemi's father was Sicilian American and his mother Irish American. He has three brothers: Jon, Ken, and Michael. Buscemi was raised Catholic.
He graduated in 1975 from Valley Stream Central High School in Valley Stream, New York, a school which he attended with actress Patricia Charbonneau and writer Edward Renehan. In high school, Buscemi wrestled for the varsity squad and participated in the drama troupe, at that time directed by Mr. Lynne C. Lappin. He was also a member of »Alpha Omega Theta Fraternity. Buscemi's 1996 film Trees Lounge, in which he not only starred but 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.
Buscemi briefly attended Nassau Community College before moving to Manhattan to enroll in the Lee Strasberg Institute. In the early '80s Buscemi also served as a firefighter for four years on FDNY Engine 55.[http://www.firehouse.com/hotshots/slideshow/2002/0514_gz/photo19.html ]
On March 4, 2005, Buscemi returned to his old high school where he was presented the Distinguished Alumni Award as part of the school's 75th anniversary celebration.
Career
Acting
Buscemi is an associate member of the experimental theater company The Wooster Group. Buscemi’s first film appearance was in the 1986 Parting Glances, in which he played Nick, a young man with AIDS. He also was in Slaves of New York in 1988, and , a 1990 film with three segments. Buscemi starred in the first, playing Bellingham, a college student who orders a mummy and unleashes it on fellow college students played by Christian Slater and Julianne Moore.
During 1990, Buscemi had a couple of additional crime roles. He played the henchman of Laurence Fishburne named Test Tube in Abel Ferrara’s King of New York, and played Mink in the Coen Brothers Millers Crossing. This marked the first of six of the Coen Brothers' films in which Buscemi appeared.
In 1991, he played the bellboy, Chet, in the Coen Brothers film, Barton Fink. His first lead role was in 1992, where he played Adolpho Rollo in Alexandre Rockwell's In the Soup. Then he finally came to public attention for playing Mr. Pink in Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 film, Reservoir Dogs.
Buscemi's most notable character roles include Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs, Garland Greene in Con Air, Rockhound in Armageddon, Donny in The Big Lebowski and Carl Showalter in Fargo. Although usually a supporting actor, he has had critical success as a lead actor, particularly in his role as Seymour in Ghost World. Buscemi often plays characters that are neurotic and paranoid. He has appeared in a number of films by the Coen Brothers, in which he tends to die in a grisly, prolonged or unexpected manner. He frequently provides comic relief in Adam Sandler films such as Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy and Mr. Deeds. Buscemi also starred with Sandler (as brothers) in Airheads alongside Brendan Fraser. Buscemi also played a nemesis to Sandler and Kevin James in the comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. He also has worked with Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Jim Jarmusch, The Coen Brothers, and Robert Rodriguez on various occasions.
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 who Marge promises to visit in jail if he turns himself in to the authorities. This episode, entitled "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", originally aired on October 14, 2007.
In 2004, Buscemi joined the cast of The Sopranos as Tony Soprano's cousin and childhood friend, Tony Blundetto. Buscemi had previously contributed to the show as director of the third season episode "Pine Barrens" (one of the most critically-acclaimed episodes of the series). He appeared in the third episode of Season 6, as a doorman in heaven (portrayed as a country club) in Tony Soprano's dream. He returned to direct the episodes "In Camelot", the seventh episode of season five, and "Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request...", the fifth episode of Season 6.
In 1995, Buscemi played suspected cop-shooter Gordon Pratt in the episode "End Game" at the end of a three-episode arc of . 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. 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 Triumphant, before Warner Bros. cancelled the project.»moviemansguide.com review of Batman Begins by Andy Hoglund
In 2004, Buscemi appeared in the music video for Joe Strummer's cover of the Bob Marley track "Redemption Song". The video is shot after Strummer's death, and Buscemi appears alongside of a graffiti portrait of Strummer.
Directing
Buscemi has worked extensively as a writer-director since making his debut feature during the 1990s. His directional credits include:
- Trees Lounge (1996)
- Animal Factory (2000)
- Lonesome Jim (2005)
- Interview (2007)
Whilst scouting a location for a film, Buscemi visited the Philadelphia Eastern State Penitentiary. He found the building so interesting that he later provided the majority of the narration for the audio tour there.
Personal life
The day after the September 11 attacks, Buscemi went to his old firehouse to volunteer for recovery work at Ground Zero. That week, he worked 12 hour shifts digging through the rubble, while refusing to do interviews or have his picture taken.»indieking.com interview with photos
In April 2001, while shooting the film Domestic Disturbance in Wilmington, North Carolina, Buscemi was stabbed three times while intervening in a bar fight at Firebelly Lounge between his friend Vince Vaughn, screenwriter Scott Rosenberg and a local man, who allegedly instigated the brawl.»thesmokinggun.com mugshots and description»indieking.com has two news clippings on the incident.
Buscemi has one son, Lucian, with his wife Jo Andres.
Filmography
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9;
|- align="center"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes
|-
|1986
|Parting Glances
|Nick
|
|-
|1987
|Kiss Daddy Goodnight
|Johnny
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1988
|Call Me
|Switchblade
|
|-
|Heart of Midnight
|Eddy
|
|-
|rowspan="4"| 1989
|Slaves of New York
|Wilfredo
|
|-
|Mystery Train
|Charlie the Barber
|Nominated: Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor
|-
|Lonesome Dove
|Luke
|TV
|-
|New York Stories
|Gregory Stark
|
|-
|rowspan="3"| 1990
|
|Bellingham
|Segment: "Lot 249"
|-
|King of New York
|Test Tube
|
|-
|Miller's Crossing
|Mink
|
|-
|1991
|Barton Fink
|Chet
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|1992
|In the Soup
|Aldolpho Rollo
|
|-
|Reservoir Dogs
|Mr. Pink
|Won: Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor
|-
|CrissCross
|Drug Dealer
|
|-
|rowspan="4"|1993
|Twenty Bucks
|Frank
|
|-
|Rising Sun
|Willy 'the Weasel' Wilhelm
|
|-
|The Adventures of Pete & Pete
|Phil Hickle
|TV
|-
|Ed And His Dead Mother
|Ed Chilton
|
|-
|rowspan="5"|1994
|The Search for One-eye Jimmy
|Ed Hoyt
|
|-
|The Hudsucker Proxy
|Beatnik Barman at Ann's 440
|
|-
|Airheads
|Rex
|
|-
|Pulp Fiction
|Buddy Holly
|
|-
|The Last Outlaw
|Former Confederate soldier and outlaw Philo
|TV
|-
|rowspan="4"|1995
|Billy Madison
|Danny McGrath
|Uncredited
|-
|Living in Oblivion
|Nick Reve
|
|-
|Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
|Mister Shhh
|
|-
|Desperado
|Buscemi
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|1996
|Fargo
|Carl Showalter
|Nominated: Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture - Drama
|-
|Escape from L.A.
|Map to the Stars Eddie
|
|-
|Trees Lounge
|Tommy
|Also writer and director
Nominated: Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature (shared with Chris Hanley and Brad Wyman)
Nominated: Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay
|-
|1997
|Con Air
|Garland 'The Marietta Mangler' Greene
|
|-
|rowspan="5"|1998
|The Big Lebowski
|Theodore Donald 'Donny' Kerabatsos
|
|-
|Divine Trash
|Himself
|
|-
|The Impostors
|Happy Franks
|
|-
|The Wedding Singer
|David 'Dave' Veltri
|Uncredited
|-
|Armageddon
|Rockhound
|
|-
|1999
|Big Daddy
|Homeless Guy
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|2000
|28 Days
|Cornell Shaw
|
|-
|Animal Factory
|A.R. Hosspack
|Also director
|-
|rowspan="6"|2001
|Ghost World
|Seymour
|Won: Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Won: Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor
Won:New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Won: Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated: American Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
|-
|
|Officer Neil
|Voice
|-
|The Grey Zone
|'Hesch' Abramowics
|
|-
|Love in the Time of Money
|Martin Kunkle
|
|-
|Domestic Disturbance
|Ray Coleman
|
|-
|Monsters, Inc.
|Randall Boggs
|Voice
|-
|rowspan="4"|2002
|Mr. Deeds
|Crazy Eyes
|
|-
|13 Moons
|Bananas The Clown
|
|-
|The Laramie Project
|Doc O'Conner
|
|-
|
|Romero
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|2003
|
|Romero
|
|-
|Coffee and Cigarettes
|Waiter (Segment "Twins")
|
|-
|Big Fish
|Norther Winslow
|
|-
|2002-2006
|The Sopranos
|Tony Blundetto / Man
|TV (16 Episodes)
Nominated: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (2001)
Nominated: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Drama Series (2004)
|-
|2004
|Home on the Range
|Wesley
|Voice
|-
|rowspan="2"|2005
|Lonesome Jim
|
|Director
|-
|The Island
|James McCord
|
|-
|rowspan="4"|2006
|Art School Confidential
|Broadway Bob D'Annunzio
|Uncredited
|-
|Monster House
|Nebbercracker
|Voice
|-
|Charlotte's Web
|Templeton the Rat
|Voice
|-
|
|Narrator
|TV
|-
|rowspan="8"|2007
|I Think I Love My Wife
|George Sianidis
|
|-
|Paris, je t'aime
|The tourist (segment 'Tuileries')
|
|-
|Interview
|Pierre Peters
|Also director
|-
|I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
|Clint Fitzer
|
|-
|The Simpsons
|Dwight
|Voice
TV (Episode: I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)
|-
|Delirious
|Les Galantine
|
|-
|Romance & Cigarettes
|Angelo
|
|-
|30 Rock
|Lenny Wosniak
|TV (4 Episodes)
Nominated: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series (2008)
|-
|rowspan="2"|2008
|ER
|Mr. Masterson
|TV (1 Episode)
|-
|Igor
|Scamper
|Voice
|-
|rowspan="5"| 2009
| Rage
|Frank
|
|-
|John Rabe
|Dr. Robert Wilson
|Nominated: German Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (2008)
|-
|G-Force
|Bucky
|Voice
|-
|The Messenger
|Dale Martin
|
|-
|Handsome Harry
|Thomas Kelley
|
|-
|rowspan="3"| 2010
|Saint John of Las Vegas
|John Alighieri
|
|-
|Youth in Revolt
|George Twisp
|
|-
|Pete Smalls Is Dead
|Bernie Lake
|post-production
|}
- »Steve Buscemi: Indie King
- »Hear the song 'Steve Buscemi' by The Pale Corners on the Low Slung Podcast
- »Donny Tribute Lebowski Podcast episode dedicated to Buscemi's character in The Big Lebowski