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). 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, 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). (Joel and Ethan)|294x294px 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. 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. 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). |306x306px 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 Buscemi continued directing for television including for the
Showtime series
Nurse Jackie (2009–2011) starring
Edie Falco, the
NBC sitcom
30 Rock (2009–2011) starring
Tina Fey and
Alec Baldwin and
Portlandia from 2014 to 2015. He also directed 27 episodes of his web series
Park Bench with Steve Buscemi (from 2014 to 2015). Buscemi starred in the
HBO drama series
Boardwalk Empire created by
Terence Winter. The series started in 2010, where Buscemi assumed the role as
Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (based on
Enoch L. Johnson), a corrupt
Atlantic City politician who rules the town during the
Prohibition era. Buscemi's performance garnered him a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama; he later received two more nominations for his work on the same show. In 2011 he hosted
NBC's
Saturday Night Live. Buscemi had a recurring role as Lenny Wosniak in the
NBC sitcom
30 Rock from 2007 to 2013. During this time he appeared as a guest star in numerous shows such as the
IFC sketch series
Portlandia (2014–2017), the
Comedy Central sketch series
Inside Amy Schumer (2016), the
Netflix comedy series
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2016), and the Comedy Central comedy series
Broad City (2017). He also acted alongside
Adam Sandler in the animated film
Hotel Transylvania 2 and
The Ridiculous 6, (both in 2015). He hosts, directs, and produces his own web series talk show,
Park Bench with Steve Buscemi, which ran from 2014 to 2015. Buscemi won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series for the series in 2016. Also that year, Buscemi co-starred alongside
Louis C.K. and
Alan Alda in C.K.'s acclaimed comedy-drama web series
Horace and Pete. In an interview with
The Hollywood Reporter, Buscemi was the first actor to sign on to the project; with
Boardwalk Empire over he was available to star in the series. The two reportedly "met up in New York City where C.K. pitched the still evolving series idea to Buscemi. He signed on, on the spot, to play C.K.'s brother, Pete".
2016–present In 2016, Buscemi acted in the political drama
Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer starring
Richard Gere. The film premiered at the
Telluride Film Festival. The following year he starred as Del Montgomery in the British coming of age drama
Lean on Pete (2017) directed by
Andrew Haigh. The film premiered at the
74th Venice International Film Festival. The performance earned him a
BIFA for Best Supporting Actor. In 2017 Buscemi starred in
Armando Iannucci's
dark comedy and
satirical film
The Death of Stalin. Buscemi portrayed
Nikita Khrushchev. He received critical acclaim from critics with
Manohla Dargis describing his performance as "superb". The role earned him a
BIFA for Best Supporting Actor nomination. During this time Buscemi continued taking roles in comedy films such as
The Week Of (2018), ''
The Dead Don't Die (2019), The King of Staten Island (2020), and Hubie Halloween (2020) as well as voicing roles in The Boss Baby (2017), Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018), and Hotel Transylvania: Transformania'' (2022). In February 2020, Buscemi was cast as Chebutykin in a
New York Theatre Workshop revival of
Anton Chekhov's
Three Sisters alongside
Greta Gerwig,
Oscar Isaac, and
Chris Messina. The production was supposed to begin May 13, but was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic with no return date set. == Directing ==