Steve Buscemi Biography

His talents were first noticed by filmmaker Bill Sherwood, who was casting his film 'Parting Glances'. The 1986 drama was one of the first feature films to be made about AIDS (Sherwood himself died from AIDS in 1990), and it starred Buscemi as Nick, a sardonic rock singer suffering from the disease.

In 1990, he had a career breakthrough with his role in 'Miller's Crossing', which began his long-time collaboration with the Coen brothers, who went on to cast Buscemi in nearly all of their films, featuring him to particularly memorable effect in 'Barton Fink' (1991), in which he played a bell boy; 'Fargo' (1996), which featured him as an ill-fated kidnapper; and 'The Big Lebowski' (1998).

Although Buscemi has done his best work outside of the Hollywood mainstream, he has occasionally appeared in blockbusters such as 'Con Air' (1997), 'Armageddon' (1998), and '28 Days' (2000), the last of which cast him against type as Sandra Bullock's rehab counsellor.

Despite having the opportunity to play leading roles in large commercial movies, the unconventional actor has continued to display his dedication to independent film projects, such as the comic book adaptation 'Ghost World' and Quentin Tarantino’s acclaimed and violent debut 'Reservoir Dogs'.

In 1996, Buscemi made his screenwriting and directorial debut with 'Trees Lounge', a well-received comedy drama, in which he played a down-on-his-luck auto mechanic shuffling through life on Long Island. He followed up his debut with 'Animal Factory' (2000), a subdued prison drama, starring Edward Furlong as a young inmate who finds protection from his fellow prisoners in the friendship of an older convict.

Buscemi has also directed notable episodes of hit TV shows, such as 'The Sopranos'.