Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Steven Vincent Buscemi was born on December 13, 1957 in Brooklyn. Buscemi is Italian-American best known for his role as Tony Blundetto on the critically acclaimed HBO series The Sopranos. He attended Nassau Community College before studying at the Lee Strasberg Institute. Before his acting and directing career flourished, he was a firefighter in New York City. He is also an associate member of The Wooster Group, an experimental theater company.
Steve Buscemi’s first role was in 1986’s Parting Glances, where he played a man suffering from AIDS. His next project was the film Call Me, followed by 1990’s Tales from the Darkside. His other roles during the 1990s were more focused on crime-themed productions. He played a henchman in Christopher Walken’s King of New York, and was also in the Coen Brothers’ Millers Crossing. He next played a bellboy in his second of six Coen Brothers films, Barton Fink. Buscemi rose to the spotlight when he appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, playing Mr. Pink. Another Tarantino film that Buscemi appeared in was Pulp Fiction. He also had a notable performance in Con Air and Armageddon, as well as in The Big Lebowski and Fargo. His stint as a supporting actor was over when he gained success playing lead roles. He became known for playing Seymour in Ghost World, and soon chose to play even more neurotic and paranoid characters.
Buscemi is also a source of comic relief in many Adam Sandler films, like Big Daddy, Billy Madison, Mr. Deeds, The Wedding Singer and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. He then made a celebrity guest appearance as himself in an episode of The Simpsons in 2003. The next year, he joined the cast of HBO’s acclaimed series The Sopranos playing the character Tony Blundetto. The character is the cousin of Tony Soprano and rival of Lupertazzi group captain, Phil Leotardo. Buscemi is also known for his appearance in Tim Burton’s Big Fish and the sci-fi thriller The Island. He has also voiced characters in films like Charlotte’s Web and Monster House. Buscemi next guest starred in the sitcom 30 Rock and the drama ER.