Steve Buscemi

Episode notes

(Photo: Dominik Bindl / Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)

Steve Buscemi has been in tons of movies and television shows throughout his long and successful career in Hollywood. He played the lonely Seymour in 2001’s Ghost World opposite Scarlett Johansson. He also played the frightening “Nucky” Thompson in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire as well as performances in Reservoir Dogs, Con Air, Fargo, The Sopranos and NBC’s 30 Rock.

He has an extremely recognizable face with soulful eyes that are just perfect for playing the kind of sympathetic bad dudes we’ve grown to know and love him for. He brings humanity and empathy to every role including the times he’s played criminals. Steve has played plenty of those.

He dies a lot on screen, too. He’s pretty good at it. He’s been shot. Hacked up into pieces. Had heart attacks. In fact, it happened so much that the Coen Brothers joked about inventing new ways to kill his characters.

Steve recently directed The Listener – it’s a drama, starring Tessa Thompson, that follows a crisis helpline volunteer as they take calls. It’s intense, riveting, and deeply human. 

The actor, director and producer joins Bullseye to talk about dying on screen dozens of times, and how his father shaped his career in the civil services and encouraged him to pursue acting. We’ll look back on the first ever movie he acted in – one that ended up being a pivotal moment in the history of American queer cinema. Plus, he’ll talk to us about trying his hand at stand-up as an eighteen year old kid from Long Island. 

A version of this interview originally aired in February of 2020.