Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi
Born	Steven Vincent Buscemi
Other names	Mig
Awards	CFCA Award for Best Supporting Actor 2001 Ghost World

Steven Vincent Buscemi (born December 13, 1957) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated American actor and film director.

Early life

Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York, to John Buscemi, an Italian 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 writer Edward Renehan and actress Patricia Charbonneau. In high school, Buscemi wrestled for the varsity squad and participated in the drama troupe, at that time directed by Mr. Lynne C. Lappin. (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, New York.) Buscemi briefly attended Nassau Community College before moving to Manhattan to enroll in the Lee Strasberg Institute. In the early 80's Buscemi also served as a firefighter for four years with the FDNY. On March 4th 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 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, wherein 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 played a nemesis to Sandler and Kevin James in the comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. He also has worked with Quentin Tarantino, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Jim Jarmusch 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". 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 episode " Mr. and 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 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. Buscemi was rumored to be considered for the role of The Scarecrow in Joel Schumacher's proposed fifth installment of the Batman franchise, Batman Triumphant, before Warner Bros. cancelled the project.

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 worked extensively as a director, currently helming (and starring in) the feature film, Interview. He directed Trees Lounge (1996), Animal Factory (2000), and Lonesome Jim (2005). In addition to feature films, he directed episodes of the television shows Homicide: Life on the Street and The Sopranos, as well as two episodes of HBO's prison-drama series Oz, entitled "U.S. Male" and "Cuts Like a Knife".

Personal life

The day after the September 11, 2001 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.

In April 2001, while shooting the film Domestic Disturbance in Wilmington, North Carolina, Buscemi was slashed and badly scarred on his face while intervening in a bar fight between his friend Vince Vaughn, screenwriter Scott Rosenberg and a local man, Timothy Fogerty, who allegedly instigated the brawl.

During his profile on the show Inside the Actors Studio, director John Waters said that he and Buscemi bear an uncanny resemblance to each other, to the point where Waters sent out Christmas cards with a picture of "himself" which was actually Buscemi dressed as him. He also (somewhat jokingly) noted that should a movie ever be made about Waters' life, Buscemi has agreed to star as Waters in the film.

Buscemi has one son, Lucian, with his wife Jo Andres.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Parting Glances	Nick
1987	Kiss Daddy Goodnight	Johnny
1988	Call Me	Switchblade
1989	Slaves of New York	Wilfredo
	Mystery Train	Charlie the Barber
	Lonesome Dove	Luke	(TV Series)
1990	Tales from the Darkside: The Movie	Bellingham (segment "Lot 249")
	King of New York	Test Tube
	Miller's Crossing	Mink
1991	Barton Fink	Chet
1992	In the Soup	Aldolpho Rollo
	Reservoir Dogs	Mr. Pink
1993	Twenty Bucks	Frank
	Rising Sun	Willy 'the Weasel' Wilhelm
	The Adventures of Pete & Pete	Phil Hickle	(TV Series)
	Ed And His Dead Mother	Ed Chilton
1994	The Search for One-eye Jimmy	Ed Hoyt
	The Hudsucker Proxy	Beatnik Barman at Ann's 440
	Airheads	Rex
	Pulp Fiction	Buddy Holly
1995	Billy Madison	Danny McGrath	(uncredited)
	Living in Oblivion	Nick Reve
	Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead	Mister Shhh
	Desperado	Buscemi
1996	Fargo	Carl Showalter
	Escape from L.A.	Map to the Stars Eddie
	Trees Lounge	Tommy	Writer, Director
1997	Con Air	Garland 'The Marietta Mangler' Greene
1998	The Big Lebowski	Theodore Donald 'Donny' Kerabatsos
	The Impostors	Happy Franks
	The Wedding Singer	David 'Dave' Veltri	(uncredited)
	Armageddon	Rockhound
1999	Big Daddy	Homeless Guy
2000	28 Days	Cornell Shaw
	Animal Factory	A.R. Hosspack	Director
2001	Ghost World	Seymour
	Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within	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)
2002	Mr. Deeds	Crazy Eyes
	13 Moons	Bananas The Clown
	The Laramie Project	Doc O'Conner
	Spy Kids 2: Island Of Lost Dreams	Romero
2003	Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over	Romero
	Coffee and Cigarettes	Waiter (segment "Twins")
	Big Fish	Norther Winslow
2002-2006	The Sopranos	Tony Blundetto \ Man	(TV Series)
2004	Home on the Range	Wesley	(voice)
2005	Lonesome Jim		Director
	The Island	McCord
2006	Monster House	Nebbercracker	(voice)
	Charlotte's Web	Templeton the Rat	(voice)
	Dust to Dust: The Health Effects of 9/11	Narrator	(TV)
2007	I Think I Love My Wife	George
	Paris, je t'aime	The tourist (segment 'Tuileries')
	Interview	Pierre Peters	Director
	I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry	Clinton Fitzer
	The Simpsons	Dwight	(TV Series, voice)
	Delirious	Les Galantine
	Romance & Cigarettes	Angelo
30 Rock	Private Eye	(TV)
2008	Igor	Scamper	(voice)
	Keep Coming Back
	We're The Millers	David

External links

• Steve Buscemi at IMDb
• Template:Voice actor
• All Movie Guide entry
• IndieKing site devoted to Steve Buscemi
• Italian Fans Club