Youth in Revolt

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Actor

Steve Buscemi

Bio

Steve Buscemi has built a career out of portraying some of the most unique and unforgettable characters in recent cinema.

Buscemi won the Independent Spirit Award, The New York Film Critics Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in MGM’s GHOST WORLD directed by Terry Zwigoff, co-starring Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy for his role as Tony Blundetto in season five of THE SOPRANOS, and received a Guest Actor Emmy nomination for his appearance on 30 ROCK this past season.

Recently Buscemi starred in Tom DiCillo’s DELIRIOUS and the Coen Bros’ segment of PARIS, J T’AIME. This past year he wrapped filming on Bette Gordon’s HANDSOME HARRY, Hue Rhodes' SAINT JOHN OF LAS VEGAS, co-starring Romany Malco and Sarah Silverman, and Oren Moverman’s directorial debut THE MESSENGER, with Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster.

Buscemi was recently nominated for a Lola, for his work in JOHN RABE, which was directed by Academy Award winning director Florian Gallenberger and stars an International cast.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Buscemi began to show an interest in drama while in his last year of high school. Soon after, he moved to Manhattan to study acting with John Strasberg. There he and a fellow actor/writer Mark Boone Junior began writing and performing their own theatre pieces in performance spaces and downtown theatres. This soon led to Steve being cast in his first lead role in Bill Sherwood's PARTING GLANCES as a musician with AIDS.

Since this impressive breakout performance, Buscemi has become the actor of choice for some of the most respected directors in the business. His resume includes Martin Scorsese's NEW YORK STORIES, Jim Jarmusch's COFFEE AND CIGARETTES, and MYSTERY TRAIN, for which he received an IFP Spirit Award Nomination, Alexandre Rockwell's SOMEBODY TO LOVE, and the 1992 Sundance Film Festival Jury Award-winner IN THE SOUP, Quentin Tarantino's RESERVOIR DOGS, for which he received an IFP Spirit Award for his stand out performance as Mr. Pink, the Coen Brothers' MILLER’S CROSSING, BARTON FINK, the Academy Award-winning FARGO and THE BIG LEBOWSKI, TWENTY BUCKS, Tom DiCillo's DOUBLE WHAMMY, and his Sundance Film Festival Award-winning LIVING IN OBLIVION with Dermot Mulroney and Catherine Keener, DESPERADO, THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD, Robert Altman's KANSAS CITY, John Carpenter's ESCAPE FROM L.A. with Kurt Russell, Jerry Bruckheimer Productions’ CON AIR and ARMAGEDDON, Stanley Tucci's THE IMPOSTERS, the HBO telefilm THE LARAMIE PROJECT, LOVE IN THE TIME OF MONEY, Tim Burton’s BIG FISH, Michael Bay’s THE ISLAND, Terry Zwigoff’s ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL, I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY with Adam Sandler, I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE with Chris Rock and numerous cameo appearances in films such as RISING SUN, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, BIG DADDY, PULP FICTION, and THE WEDDING SINGER.

Buscemi also provided the voices for characters in the animated features MONSTERS, INC. by Pixar and Columbia Pictures’ FINAL FANTASY. Buscemi was recently heard in the feature version of the children’s classic CHARLOTTE’S WEB as the voice of “Templetonâ€� the rat. He was also the voice of Nebbercracker in Sony Pictures’ Oscar nominated animated film MONSTER HOUSE, executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis, and as scamper in MGM’s IGOR opposite John Cusack. Next up was G-FORCE, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer for Disney, and co-starring Nicholas Cage, Penelope Cruz, Will Arnett, Bill Nighy and Tracy Morgan.

In addition to his talents as an accomplished actor, Buscemi has proven to be a respected writer and director. His first project was a short film entitled WHAT HAPPENED TO PETE, which was featured at several film festivals including Rotterdam and LoCarno, and which aired on the Bravo Network.

He marked his full-length feature film directorial debut with TREES LOUNGE, which he also wrote and starred in. The film, which co-starred Chloë Sevigny, Sam Jackson, and Anthony LaPaglia, made its debut in the Directors' Fortnight at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.

Buscemi’s second feature film as a director, ANIMAL FACTORY, told the story about a young man sent to prison for an unjustly harsh sentence, who eventually becomes a product of his environment. The film, based on a book by Edward Bunker, starred Willem Dafoe and Edward Furlong, and premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.

IFC released his third directorial feature, LONESOME JIM, a comedy-drama about a dysfunctional family, starring Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler. It was named one of the year’s top ten independent films by the National Board of Review, and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Most recently, Sony Pictures Classics released INTERVIEW which Buscemi also co-wrote and starred in with Sienna Miller. This Theo Van Gogh remake premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

Buscemi’s directing work also includes numerous Television credits, including HBO’s HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET, for which he was nominated for a DGA Award, and HBO’s THE SOPRANOS, for which he was nominated for an Emmy and DGA Award for directing the “Pine Barrensâ€� episode during the third season. He recently directed an episode of the Emmy Award Winning show 30 ROCK and four episodes of Showtime’s newest drama NURSE JACKIE starring Edie Falco.

This past year, Buscemi also started an independent film and television production company based in New York, called Olive Productions. The newly formed company is the result of an over 20-year friendship and collaboration between Buscemi and Actor/Director Stanley Tucci. Wearing multiple hats they will produce, write, direct, and cultivate talent. Wren Arthur, who formerly worked for Robert Altman for 11 years, is running the company. Olive has a variety of film and television projects in development and just signed a first look deal with Lionsgate Television.

This past Spring Buscemi completed filming on Alexandre Rockwell’s PETE SMALLS IS DEAD opposite Peter Dinklage. He is currently starring in Terry Winter's HBO drama pilot, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, directed by Martin Scorsese.

Appearing as:

George Twisp