Transcript of "Steve Buscemi"

Guys, we're going to do it. We're going to do one more episode. That's it.

This is our last episode. Listeners, this is our final episode ever of Smartless- Before the next one. Right before we do the next one. That's right.

But this is it. This is the last one before the next one. This is it for the next one.

This one.

Goodbye until the next one.

When does it start?

It's going to start right now. So hello.

And goodbye.

No, hello.

Until the next one. It's an all-new Smartless. Until the next one. Smartless. Smart.

What time is it there, Sean? It's dinner.

It's 5: 30 PM. 5: 30. I just ate. I had a piece of cod, and I had some potatoes and some Asparius.

Cod, that's British. That's what they do the fish and chips with, right?

That's right. I had cod. But before that, I had a cinnamon roll.

I bet. Yeah, of course. That's British for American food. Hey, are you just moving dinner earlier and earlier into the day? What's happening?

Well, I do have... It's funny because my day starts now because LA is just waking up.

Meanwhile, you've done a full day of rehearsal already.

Yeah, and some interviews in the morning and radio, like photoshoot.

But aren't you-When you say your day starts, what are you doing?

Yeah, so after this, then I go, I'm writing something for something. Wait, hang on. What do you mean? I don't want to say it.

Are you trying your hand at screenwriting or writing a play?

No, we're talking it out and writing what the characters are, the development, the outline and all that stuff. Okay.

Will, does it taste good?

How does it sound? Fuck. Sorry, I forgot.

The gum.

We're doing an audio show.

I know. Who was the person who said, Somebody said to me once, Hey, man, can you turn your gum down?

That's a good one.

It was so good. Oh, my God.

Sorry, I forgot. Will, you're just getting started over there. Well, actually, you're midday right now.

I'm midday. I was up this morning at 5: 45.

Don't need to brag.

Isn't that It was LA, New York, London.

All the same time. What's wild? Tell me what's wild. Different time zones?

Talked about how wild. Let's talk about how wild it is, Sean.

Wait, Sean. No, sorry. What is it? Oh, it's Will. What did you do since 5: 30? You're seven hours into your day.

I woke up this morning. I did my turtle, wortel, quartel that used to be a part of with our old buddies.

You're still doing that?

I'm still doing it every morning. I love it. Then I did a hot cold. I did a sauna, and I did a cold plan for a few minutes. Then I went to my morning-Meeting. Gathering. Meeting. Very good. With all my peeps. I had a little coffee, came back, drove able to work, came back, worked out, and now I'm here. Had a little quickly something to eat. Now I'm here. When did you shower?

When did you shower?

Oh, fuck. I knew there was something. I'm going to do it after because it's just me in this sticky little booth.

No, but you work out, you have a shower.

I didn't have time. I literally just finished. I went upstairs. I had some left over chicken salad.

All I'm figuring out from this is that the workout was light.

It was not light.

I'll guarantee you. Then why haven't you showered? You weren't a sweaty fucking mess. Of course I wasn't.

I didn't have time. I didn't want to be late because we have a great guest. All right. Today- But wait.

Yes, go ahead. No, no, no. Get into it then. No, no, get into it.

I do have a great guest. I do have a great guest. You guys are going to be really thrilled. Our audience already knows because they looked at the thing when they logged on.

Sardina was what?

Our audience already knows. Is your hearing going with your hair? What's happening? That's what happens.

And the knees and the hips.

Our guest today, he has built a career out of portraying some of the most unique and unforgettable characters in recent cinema. I mean, he's one of these guys who has- Al Pacino.

Al Pacino. Fuck. Bert Reynolds is still around.

Mccona Hay. He's coming back.

Mccona Hayes. He literally just said one sentence.

All better. I think our guest is laughing. How absurd that is Al Pacino out of the blue. Haven't even named him. He's been nominated for Golden Globes. He's been to spirit awards. Here's Frost. Here's Frost. Oh, my God. You know him. He's done it all in television and film. Some of the great Boardwalk Empire Steve Buscemi.

Get him out here. Sopranos.

Get him out. Reservoir dogs. Steve Buscemi. God, you guys wouldn't let me finish for fuck's sake.

You've got to bury. You should have started with- You can't name his stuff because How did you start naming everything he's done, you're like, Oh, yes. Start with some of the voiceover stuff. You would have kept us in the dark.

Well, if I had started with the animated movies, you're right.

One of the greatest voiceover artists next to Will Arnett. That's right.

That's saying something. Thank you.

That's saying very little.

A monster Monster's University.

There you go. I know. What about Igor?

Oh, Igor. Right. Igor.

Come on.

We've worked together a lot. I've never really-What was Igor now?

I don't know if I knew Igor.

It was an animated film from 17,000 years ago.

Okay. John Cusack. Yeah. Oh.

Igor. Jennifer Coolidge. Molly Shannon.

Sean, you played-What a cast. Brian. You were the brain, but you spelled it wrong.

No, my name is Ryan.

Boy, if he was the brain, you guys were in trouble.

I always challenge myself on that.

Steve, we showed me, welcome to Smartlist. God, it's good to have you here.

This is great. This is fantastic.

I'm such a massive have been like everybody else of what you do because you do so much different stuff. It's amazing. Just to have you out here is, I got to say, a thrill.

Not bigger than me. I'm really agaced right now.

This That's fantastic. I know. I'm a little...

That I'm not Al Pacino. How lucky are we?

I'm sorry, Sean.

Jesus. I was a shot in the dark. It was a shot in the dark.

Steve, where do we find you? Where's that beautiful orange room you're in?

I'm in the Netflix building in New York.

Okay. Oh, hence the red background.

Yeah. Orange.

Adjust your- Sort of a soundproof room.

Yeah, either that or the set of Squid Game.

I was going to get to this, but we can mention it early You're working on it. Your Netflix show is coming out soon, right?

Wednesday. Wednesday?

Yes. It's the name of the show. It's not coming out.

That's the name of the... It's the second season of The Adam's Family Show Wednesday. That's right.

Which has been a huge success.

I love the first season, and I'm really excited that they cast me in the second season. I played the new principal of Nevermore. It's the boarding school that Wednesday they attend.

I see. Nice. Well, you'd make a great principle. I don't know. I think I do. Steve, we always ask people how they got started, whatever. I've always wanted to know, what was a young Steve Buscemi like? When you were a kid, were you seven years old? You wanted to be an actor? Kind of. Because I know that you started with a different career professionally before you started acting. What was it? Can you walk us through that a little bit?

Well, I mean, when I was a kid, like all of us, I I watched a lot of TV, and it was everything. It was like the Three Stooges, which, Sean, again, I have to say, man, you played.

This was a picture.

I can't believe you got to play that.

Talk about a stooge This guy was a perfect stooge. Three stoos just were big in my house.

In my apartment in East... Not my apartment. In the apartment I lived in East New York, Brooklyn. Yeah, The Little Rascals, shows like that. But also the afternoon movie that was on at four o'clock that would show all these gangster films. I was a big fan of Cagny and Bogart and all those films, too.

But did you see yourself doing this? Because like I alluded to, you started in a different career, and Jason is not aware of this, but some people are. When was the moment that you allowed yourself to just walk us through what that career was briefly, if you don't mind, if it's okay.

I was a firefighter in the early '80s. Wow, really? Yeah. But I had been trying to be an actor, and actually I tried my hand at standup. Oh, wow. It's not like I was a firefighter who then decided to become an actor. I was already a flailing standup and want to be actor who had taken I did the fire department test when I was 18, and they didn't get to my name. My name was on a list, and they called me when I was like... I was 22, I think, when I was called. Then I was like, I'm going nowhere with this showbiz stuff. So I joined the fire department.

And you fought fires for four or five years?

Yeah, I was at Engine 55 in Manhattan. That's crazy.

In New York?

Yeah. That's amazing. In New York.

Oh, my goodness. It should be noted that you also Rejoined briefly after 9/11. Is that true?

I heard that. Well, I didn't rejoin. I went down to my old firehouse on Broome Street because I knew that they were there, that they had been at the site, and I couldn't get any information. On the 12th, I went there and I brought my turnout gear, my coat and helmet and boots and gloves. That's amazing. I was brought into the site by another firefighter, and he told me about the guys that were missing in the company, and one was a good friend of mine. Anyway, I went down to the site and I was able to find my company there. Because they had lost members, they had access to the main pile that was still burning. This is the day out? I got to work with them for the rest of the week. This was on a- Wow, man.

Were these guys you kept in touch with? Were they still in the same? No.

I mean, there were some guys that I recognized who I used to work with, but by and large, it was all new guys, and I didn't know them, but I got to know them during the week. And since then, I stayed in touch. And now every year on 9/11, I attend the breakfast at the firehouse with the families, and then there's a mass service, and then there's a lunch. And there's also a bar time in their- Sure. They are firefighters. So there is a fair amount of drinking at Tony's bar.

That's incredible. Sean, you've supported, so you bought a calendar every year, right? Yeah.

Steve. We love that.

Every year. I never miss the earth. Yeah, I do what I can. Steve, how did firefighting find you at a young age?

Was your dad involved with any of that stuff?

My dad was a sanitation worker. He worked in Brooklyn, and he did that for 30 years. And so he just knew the civil service, what that job meant, the benefits.

The whole apparatus that keeps that city moving. Yeah.

And the pay is good and you get good benefits. And he always... I mean, he knew I wanted to become an actor, but he would tell me, Just put in your 20 years and then you can do all the acting you want. It's like, That It doesn't really work that way, but I tried it.

Because, meanwhile- Put in your 20.

Put in your 20. Just put in your 20, retire at half pay, and then do all the acting you want.

He was noticing that you were leaning towards acting. Is that because you were taking classes as a young kid? Were you doing it at school?

I think he knew it that I had it in me since I was a little kid, because when I was really little, I used to just make up stories and tell jokes. If we were at a cousin's wedding, I would stand up on a table and just do a stand-up routine. That's funny. I'm sure it was stupid, but I was five or six, so they Then I talk about this. I've talked about this before. When I was in fourth grade, my teacher, Mr. Riccabono, he cast me in for a production of The Wizard of Oz. I got to play The Cowardly Lion, and I thought, this is it. If I never do anything else after this, I was so happy. When I was on stage, it was that feeling of, wow, people are enjoying this, and they're laughing.

That'd be a good role for you, JB.

That's Howard the Lion.

Yeah. I could do it.

He's got the hair for it.

Wait. He does have the mane. Was mom or dad somebody who was outgoing and who was leading for you at that moment? Who was your North Star? Was it mom or dad?

In their own ways, both. My mom was the one, when we were young, who used to take us to the movies and see musicals and comedies. And then when I was a teenager, a little bit even younger, my dad would take us to the movies, and we'd see things across the 110th Street and Cotton comes to Harlem, and movies I just shouldn't have been seeing like that. But it was great. And my dad, he had a good friend growing up in East New York named Peter Miller, who became an actor. And he went to the neighborhood playhouse House, and he was in movies with Cassavetes, and he was in Robert Altman's first film, The Delinquents. But he did it for a few years, and then he left, and he became an investment banker. So by the time I was old enough to talk to him, he had left acting. But it was like, Uncle Pete, and he lives in Kent, California. And I was like, Someday I'm going to make it to California and Uncle Pete is going to show me the ropes. So there was that. But really, in junior high and high school, I didn't do any theater.

I became a jock. And and did sports.

What were you playing?

I played soccer and a little bit of track, but wrestling was my big sport that I really loved. That's amazing. Then it wasn't until my senior year that I started to I do the plays in high school. I had another great teacher, Lynn Lappin. He was the English teacher, but he started the first acting class. I got to be in Fiddler on the Roof. It was really fun. That's cool.

What was that first trip out to LA like? Was there one?

Yeah. So Uncle Pete and Charlene, his wife, they lived in Vanhys. Yeah. Beautiful out there. I I stayed with them, but I didn't have a car. I didn't have a car, and he would go off to work. And I'd just be like, I want to see LA. I didn't know, but I didn't know how to do it.

Oh, you like 115 degrees with no trees?

No car in Vanhij. So you just started hooping it and enjoying the fruits of Woodman Avenue and Woodman Sherman Way.

But I think it was on that trip because I had done a film called Parting Glances in New York, and I went out to LA to try and meet casting people. And my friend Cathy Kenny, who was in that film, she was taking meetings and she would just bring me along. She would pick me up and bring me along to these meetings. And some people were okay like, Oh, you brought a friend? She was like, But he's a really good actor. You should see him, too. Yeah. But mostly, I think they were like, Who is this guy? Why did you bring him?

Yeah, that rarely goes down well. They're like, Oh, of course, let's meet your friend.

Yeah. Those first few experiences, were you free styling or were you coming with a certain amount of training that you were leaning on or were you more of an instinctual guy?

Yeah, I had no idea what I was doing, really. I just did not know. I remember when I first got a manager and I was going out on meetings and the feedback that he was getting was, he's so deadpan and he doesn't seem like he wants to be here. He just is so quiet and like That's good. Then I went to... I remember the first time I met Bonnie Timmerman, big casting agent. I went in and I went in smiling. The first thing she said to me was, What are you smiling for? I was like, Well, now I don't know what to do. She thought I was laughing at something. I was like, No, I was told to smile. So I'm sorry.

Come in there looking crazy.

That's funny.

And we will be right back.

And now back to the show.

You figure it out, though. You do a bunch of different parts. You do 8, 10 movies maybe before Reservoir Dogs. You do a bunch of varying degrees, bigger roles, et cetera. That must have been a seminal moment, if I'm guessing right. Absolutely. Talk a little bit about how that came into your world and what it was like first meeting Quentin Tarantino.

The script came to me from one of my early agents, Nancy Green, who has since passed away, but she was really great. I have to back up the story because a year before that, or maybe six months before that, she convinced me to go on an audition for... It was a Neil Simon comedy, and I don't even remember what film it was for. But I really didn't want to go. And she said, No, just go. You can meet the casting director, Ronny Eskel. Okay. I went, and there were other actors there, and they put us in a group scene. We were improvising, and it was fun. But I left and I didn't get whatever part that I was auditioning for and forgot about it. And then I got the script for Reservoir Dogs from Nancy, and I loved it. The first time I met Quentin was on the phone. Hearing his voice, I was just shocked because I thought I was going to be talking to an ex-convict who was in his 50s or something. Instead, it was like, Hey, man, thanks for reading my script. Thanks a bunch. I'm really excited. I was like, Wait, are you Quentin Tarantino?

Yeah, man. I was like, It didn't match up. But he was so excited and so enthused. I auditioned for it twice. And then I did the workshop for it in Sundance. And it was Quentin and I. And this is, I guess, typical Quentin fashion He tells me, I got the part of Mr. Pink as we were in the bathroom. We're in the bathroom together. He said, Oh, by the way, I cast you as Mr. Pink. I went, What? Really? He says, Yeah. And he says, Yeah, and it wasn't really based on your You're going to audition. But Ronny Eskel showed me a tape of when you auditioned for that Neil Simon movie, but that was a comedy. What did you see in me that you thought? He goes, Well, because you had on a vintage and your hair was slicked back and you looked like a criminal. That was just how I dressed. That was just me.

Just rolling on a bed.

Yeah. No way. So thank God I went on that audition. Yeah.

That's cool. Isn't that amazing? How those things worked, that you just never know. It is.

Would you say that that film or any of the films around that started to solidify for you? Was what you were confident in doing. I guess the question is, at what point did you start to really just dig into your style, quote unquote, or what your confidence was? What I have is going to work. What I have is going to take me into something that I can make a living and also can be creatively fulfilled. When did you get that feeling of, I've got what I think it takes, and I like that they're hiring for this type of thing?

I mean, that film, Reservoir Dogs, had a lot to do with opening doors for sure, and it did a lot for my confidence. Just being cast in a movie with Harvey Keitel and having scenes with Harvey, that was like a dream. I never thought that that would be possible. Then getting to meet and work with actors like Tim Roth and Michael Madsen, who we sadly lost, and meeting Eddie Bunker, who was an ex-convict and wrote the movie Straight Time that was based on his book and Runaway Train. It was just exciting to be with these people and Chris Penn and the whole cast. Just having done the movie was a huge confidence boost. Then Quentin did us all a big favor by that credit sequence of having us walk in the parking lot and our names were underneath our faces as we were walking. Because before that, it was like, who's this guy? If my name was mentioned, you couldn't put a face to the name. Now, at least people could. And I had something to show. If I was up for something and they wanted to see what I did, that was the film.

And so that opened doors. But as far as what my style is or anything, I never know. I feel like I've done so many different kinds of things. And depending on who I meet, on the street, if I get recognized, I never know what they... Is it from a Coen Brothers? Is it from Tarantino? Or is it from Adam Sandler? So some people only know me in that comedic vein, and other people know me from other things.

Well, that's a tribute to your career. You're able to do so many different things so well. You must have a great number of choices in front of you at times. How do you decide which way you're going to go? Is it based on the people involved? Is it based on the character, that being maybe different than the last one you just played? How are you making your decisions?

I guess it's different each time. Sometimes it's just such a wonderful script. If it's an independent film and it's a young filmmaker that's starting to come up, and I love doing that type of work. Oh, wow. Then other times it's the people who are involved, but it really is the material. I try and go for the material first.

The script as a whole or your particular character?

As a whole? Yeah. As a whole. I mean, it used to be. There was a time when I would read a script and they'd say what character, and I would just flip the pages to see when the character would be killed. I swear it was. I made it to page 30 Okay. I think I'll do it.

Would it be where the character was killed or would it also be where the character can really score? Would you look at that and go like, Oh, this is a good scene. You know what I mean?

Well, yeah. There's that stuff where if it's a good dramatic part or it was a good scene. But yeah, mainly I would either get beat up or I would be chasing somebody with a knife and then eventually get killed. Yeah, it went that way for a while.

We touched on it, Jason, you just said, too, you did so many different, not just so many different characters, but so many different kinds of size of films. You've done these huge Hollywood films, and done these really small. In fact, you made the seminal independent film, Living in Ablivian, with our mutual friend Tom D'Achillo, which is about making an independent film, which is one of my favorites. Then you just said that you like working with young up and coming directors. Is it that you like the feeling of being part of that vibe of somebody who's just finding their way and exploring? Is that exciting to you? Is that what it is?

Yeah, I really love that. I'm so happy that I was part of Quentin's first film. That was, I think, really exciting for all of us to see somebody like him. He had such confidence in what he was doing that that's what, I think, blew all of us away. That he-It was such a clear point of view. That energy is contagious. It just makes you feel good about being in this business.

Yeah. And not knowing you very well, Steve, is like, I get a sense from you that you're, and you correct me if I'm wrong, you're filled with gratitude and appreciation for working in where you are in life as an actor. I can't ever see you being a problem on any set ever or having an issue. There's many types of actors, and a lot of them can't wait to share all of their ideas and their and come to set. There's those types. And then there's other types that are just like, yes, I've studied In my role, I have a few ideas, but you're in charge. Where do you fall?

I think I fall into... I've worked with so many different directors, and I like to see what their style is and how I can be accommodating. Since I've been directing, I'm even more so because now I know what directors go through. A lot of the times, they're just trying to make the day, right? You don't want to be like, I talk with Jason about it all the time because I always ask Jason about the difference between being on either side.

And you have that, too, now.

Yeah. I mean, it's like, Well, why would I come through this door? Don't you think I should... Okay, Where do you want me to come through? Okay, good. I could figure out my own motivation or if you want me to do this. And it's only when something really doesn't feel right, if I can't find my way around organically, why I'm doing something or if the blocking feels off, yeah, then I'll say something. But generally, yeah, I just like to show up and do it.

As a director, have you had those moments where you've had to say, Just come through the fucking door, man. Why the door? Because it's the only door that we have, and you need to come into the scene. So we need you in here to do this scene.

That's right.

Have you had those moments?

I I really can't think of anybody who was that way with me. I've had moments, but being an actor, I always like to see what the actor will come up with. If I have time to rehearse something properly, which you don't always, I like to see what the actors do naturally and then try and then block the scene. Sometimes you don't have that luxury. You just want to get in there and say, Okay, the The actors aren't here yet. Let's see if we can get them to be this one here, this one here, and then we can shoot it.

You're like, We're already set up for this, so this is how it's going to go. But J. B, have you ever had that where you've had to just go, Fucking just do it, man.

You know what?

Just do it, yeah. I mean, a thousand times because I-Really? Yeah, because personally, I'm such a fan of what the camera can do to help the audience understand what the scene is about. Oftentimes, I'll have a huge plan already worked out about what the coverage is going to be, and that means that people have to be in certain spots. I'll try to encourage the actors to make a friend of that blocking. But if they aren't comfortable with it, I can pivot for sure. But Steve, with all the incredible set experience that you have and the number of fantastic directors that you've worked with, it's interesting to me to hear you say that you gravitate towards new directors at times, Because it seems like you'd often be in a situation where that director might be drowning in the unforeseen complications of any day. And you might get frustrated with like, oh, my God, it's frustrating for you to have been on so many sets that work so well to then be extending your patience and your experience to help out a young director. I find that just so generous of you. Is it taxing?

But I don't really find the frustration that I do sometimes feel with the person who is directing. I've just been on so many sets over the years. I get frustrated with maybe like, Why did they bring me in this early? Or why are they shooting this first?

That's the first AD you're yelling at.

Why are they... And especially on... Boardwalk Empire was the first time I had played a character repeatedly, and for however many seasons that we did, five. And towards the end, I think I did start to be the guy that wouldn't... They'd call me to set, and I would just go, All right, I'm just going to sit here for another 10 minutes until they really need me. But then that... Then they're like, Well, he's not coming out. So now they would call me even earlier, the next time. But I love doing that show.

Well, then you must Well, you tell me, do you love directing? I bet you do.

In theory, it makes me the most anxious. When I direct, I get so anxious that I'm beside myself. About what? I don't do it enough. I just feel like I'm insecure. I don't really know what I'm doing. I don't know about camera stuff. See, that's my weakness is that I'll come on set and I'll say, You know what? And I'll say to the DP, I'm thinking, How about if we do this and that, and the DP will say, Oh, well, the light's coming in this way, and I would go, Oh, yeah, right. Okay, yeah, you're right. I'm not going to go talk to the actor. I'm going to go talk to the DP and go, What do we do? What do we do?

I find 8 out of 10 directors work like that. Don't you find that? A lot of directors would just punt all the camera stuff to the DP and the operator, and then they go and they work with the actress, which is a great way to do it as well. There's so many different ways to do it.

Yeah, there are. But I get so jealous of directors when they say to the DP, So what do you think, 40? You're thinking 35? I'm like, What are you talking? Why are they lying I don't I know this?

Why don't I know? Whatever you're doing, you're doing it just right. Keep going.

Of all the genres you've done, is there a genre that you haven't done that you want to do, or is there a genre that you have done and that you will never do Again.

Yeah.

I really haven't done horror. I've done a little bit. There's some TV shows back in the day, tales from the crypt, and there was a show called Monsters. But I've never done a horror movie, but I don't know if I could. I'm pretty squamish, and I don't like prosthetic makeup. I've done that in the past. Like sitting in the chair for five hours. Sitting in the chair, yeah.

But your ability to ground violence is awesome.

That's great.

I love watching you deal with the unsettling, unpredictable of violence coming on someone that is just normal.

That's a bit eccentric, but like living in our world. You just ground violence very well to a point where, oh, my God, that's really shocking because it seems like it's really happening to someone in our real world. Fargo's top three films I've ever seen in my life. I've seen it more than any other film. It's so good. Just your way, not only just the violence that you deal with in that film, but even just your line of work in that film, too. That there's a grounded sense of here's a guy who's dealing with the underbelly of society, but he's not super comfortable with it, but he's got to make a living, and here we go.

It's a matter of fact, almost.

It's so exciting to follow somebody like you through an eccentric storyline because you just ground it all. You know who we are.

I love that. Well, thank you. That film, that was another seminal one for me because I had worked with the Coen Brothers a few times before that. But then in that film, they really gave me a part that was throughout the film, and I loved it. I loved that character. Thinking he's smarter than he really is, but he had a certain confidence. That he got- That's so funny.

Well, especially the way you interrelate with your cohort there, Peter Stromar.

Peter Stromar, yeah.

I just love that alpha beta thing you guys had going where you're the smartest guy in the world when it's just the two of you guys. Then you get thrown out amongst the other characters and you're in trouble.

I just-Yeah, you with a bloody face getting angry at everybody around you just made me peen my pants.

How many films did you do with the Coen brothers? Because you mentioned it. You worked with them before. You did Big Globowski was after that, right?

Was after Fargo, yeah.

Yeah, which is weird. I always think of it as being before, but it was after.

No, that was their follow-up to Fargo, which was amazing because they had finally broken into the mainstream because Fargo was nominated, right? Right. Everybody was seeing this film, and we're starting to really get to know the Coen brothers in a mainstream way. And then they follow up with this film that I remember when it came out, people really didn't know what to make of it. It took a good five years for people to catch on.

Could it have a bigger cult? I don't know if a film could have a bigger cult following than Big Labowski.

We'll be right back.

Now, back to the show.

Now, actors are lucky enough if you're in one hit, anything. One hit, play, TV show. You've had all of these things that you've been a part of hit after hit after hit. It's extraordinary. Are you able to allow yourself to appreciate that and be like, I'm proud of what I've done? I mean, of course you are. You don't have to say it out loud. Or are you one of the people that deflects it? Say it out loud. Can you absorb that? Because it's very rare for somebody to be in that many hit things.

Yeah, I mean, I'm very proud of it and I feel very grateful for it. At the same time, I feel like I haven't been in... I've never done a Marvel movie. I haven't done...

Big popcorn things.

Yeah. Yeah. I did. Armageddon and Conair were my two big movies that I did in the '90s. But I really haven't done stuff like that in so much since. But I don't care. I mean, I'm very happy with...

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. …

How things are going.

You lend You lend so much credibility and artistic rigor to those films. That was a very nice thing you did for those couple of films. I'll bet you could do that a ton more if you wanted to. I bet Marvel would have you in a second. But you're just such actor and director catnip. I hope you're as proud as you deserve to be about the position that you in this community. It's so well-earned, Steve.

Well, thank you. Coming from you and all you guys, it just means so much to me because I really appreciate it.

You've had some pretty memorable deaths on screen. Yeah, that's true. Do you have a favorite? Is there a favorite Steve Boucher manner of Dying?

I do think my favorite was in the Big Lubowski, just literally being scared to death.

It made no sense.

When I When I read the script, I was like, I think I'm going to make it through this one. I think I know. It's like, What? He's dead? That's so good.

Have you also mentioned that you improvised in that audition that Quentin saw you in, and I'm sure you've improvised a lot of movies. I know you've had the opportunity of working with so many great writers who've written, and you've mentioned so many great pieces of material. But has there ever been an improvised line? I always wanted to know, is there something in a movie somewhere that you're proud of that you improvised and that made it in the movie? You're like, Oh, yeah.

Yeah. Well, actually, in Armageddon, Michael Bay let us improvise a lot. We would do the scene, but then the one thing I remember when I was sitting on the nuclear weapon and I was like, No Nooks, no nuke. That was just from me, and it made it into the movie.

God, that movie was so huge then. I know. That was such a massive hit.

Oh, my God. Steve, again, with all of the stuff that you've done and all the directors that you've worked with and the parts that you've played, aside from Marvel, is there something that you hope to do sometime soon? And that can be as an actor or as a director. Are you looking to maybe direct one of those big popcorn, big pieces of business things or act in one of those?

I've never really had a plan for it. We all get to ask, what's your dream role? Or what play?

Or to work with somebody, a director.

Or to work with somebody. I get superstitious about, I've never worked with and so and so. I feel like if I say it out loud- Sure, sure.

That makes sense.

Although sometimes you say it out loud and it happens. That's true. Because they hear it.

What about theater? I apologize for not knowing, but if you don't take Sean... No, that's okay.

If you don't take Sean, and apologize for taking Sean's question, but go ahead, Jason. Ask it.

Sean will have the follow-up about anything funny that happened on stage. But do you enjoy doing that, or does it take too much time off of your availability?

Yeah. I mean, I used to do in the '80s when I lived in these Village, which was an amazing place and time to live. I had a partner, Mark Boon Jr, who you guys may know. He's done a lot of great work, and a A lot of people know him from Sons of Anarchy. He played the character of Bobby.

Oh, yeah. I know, Mark.

Didn't you work with Boon?

Yeah, I did. I did work with him. Yeah, he did Flate. He did our show Flate. Yes. He's terrific. God, what a great actor.

We used to write and perform our own short sketches and some plays. I never felt more creative as when I was doing that, working with him and then working with other... I worked a little bit with the Worcester Group, another playwright director, John Jezerin. I did a lot of that stuff then. Then when I When I transitioned into film, I just felt like I was spoiled by all the great people and fun that I had doing that in the '80s. It was hard for me to make a transition. They want me to do what? How many shows a week? I think the eight shows a week thing is brutal.

The dumbest thing in the world.

It's brutal. And then I guess I just kept myself open for film and TV stuff. The last play that I did was over 20 years ago, but it was amazing. It was Simon McBernie directed it, and it was Arturo Uy, and Al Pacino played Arturo Ui. There you go. He had an amazing cast, and it was Yeah, it was a star-studded cast.

You were supposed to do something with Oscar Isaac, right? Around the pandemic?

We were going to do... Yeah, we were going to do... It was Three Sisters. Oh, Three Sisters. The pandemic- That was going to be the original title of our podcast.

It was taken. It was taken.

It was taken. The pandemic put that on hold, and then it just fell apart. But I've tried to do some things over the years, but it just never worked out.

We mentioned that how much you work, and again, how many roles you've done. Obviously, you're busy a lot. You work a lot. I don't know if it feels like you work a lot, but you do.

Yeah, no, it does.

What do you do? Are you East Coast based? Are you West Coast based most of the time?

I'm East Coast. Yeah.

East Coast. New York. Yeah. Then what's a day? If you're not on set, you're not working on something. What's an average day for Steve Buscemi? You wake up and you have a... You're a coffee, tea, matcha. What are you doing?

Definitely coffee, black coffee in the morning. Black coffee. Just read the Times or whatever news feed is on my phone and do that. The post. I do yoga. We do yoga on the weekends. Nice. For a little while, I was working out, but I'm not yet.

But are you walking around? Are you going to lunch? Are you going to read books? Are you going to museums? Are you watching reality TV?

No, I don't watch reality TV. I catch up on shows and movies, and I like doing that, and I like hanging out with friends and visiting my My mom, who's 92 now, and she lives now a block away from me. Amazing. But it's a pretty uneventful life that I lead.

Sounds pretty good.

No, but that's It sounds like a power down. You need to have a quiet time where you do nothing a little bit.

What's your drink of choice?

Wine.

Oh, wine. Red, white, rosé?

Red wine. Red wine.

There you go.

All right. It's pretty It's good to know.

Hey, Will, I have to ask you this. Yeah, please. Do you remember when we were both nominated for 30 Rock?

Yeah.

Do you remember we were sitting next to each other at the- Emmies? It was the Emmys that happened before... The Creative Emmys. Yeah, the Creative Emmies.

Yeah, the Creative Emmies.

Because we were both nominated for 30 Rock, and we were sitting next to each other, and so was Tim Conway. Oh, wow.

I think-Wait a second.

Do you remember this? We didn't say a word to each other. I think we were both nervous to talk to each other.

I was nervous to talk to you.

I was nervous to talk to you. Right before that, I had introduced myself to Betty White, who was there. As I was walking away from her, I heard her say to a friend, Who was that? Then I was like, All right, I'm not going to say hi to anybody. We sat there. When they got to our category, it's Tim Conway. I think we both knew. Before they announced his name, he ran up on stage. No way. Which I thought was such a brilliant move because win or lose, it was great. It was so…

He did that? You know what's funny, Steve, I do remember that. That's so crazy. I totally blanked on that.

Did he end up winning?

He did win. He did win. He did win.

Of course, he did. He did win. But what he had done was, if you remember in the '70s, he originated that bit that they tried copy years later for actress in a comedy. He originated the bit in 1975. I know it was that year because his year, Chevy Chase was nominated for SNL, so it was like '75, '76. They started listening off the nominees, and they go, Best supporting actor in a company, Tim Conway, and he walked up. Then each nominee walked up as if they had won. That's really good. Just when they do the list of nominees, and then they stood there, and then Chevy Chase ended up winning, but they were all standing on stage. I love that he years later extended that bit. Of course, I remember that. It was so fucking crazy.

Then when he took us, he bowed and then pretended that he stabbed himself with the award and walked off holding his heart. I was like, Oh, my God.

Was there anybody funnier than Tim Conway?

No, I know. I was so excited to meet him.

I saw a bit one time where he and Harvey Corman, Harvey Corman gets announced. He either won or was announced to come to the stage. He was wearing tails. Tim Conway went and jumped on his tails and literally wrote his coattails down the aisle. It was just a brilliant... Just working on so many different levels. Oh, God.

Love it. 30 Rock.

30 Rock. 30 Rock. I know.

I missed that show. Yeah, that was so much fun to work on.

So your new show is coming out next. Well, whatever it is. Coming out soon. I should know this. This is my augmentation. August sixth, which is my son's birthday. So now I really remember. It's one of my son's birthdays. And then so what do we got in store for the rest of the summer, Steve? What are we looking to?

Well, right now, I'm working with Adam Sandler. He's producing a movie. He's producing two movies that his daughters are in. So Sunny is in one film that I'm doing called Don't Say Good luck, and Sadie is doing a film called Roomates. And last night was the premiere for Happy Gilmore 2. Happy Gilmore 2, that's right. I'm in that as well. And that was so much fun. That's great. Seeing that film. We watched it again. I watched the first one in the afternoon yesterday, just so I would be up on all the references, and they did it. It was just so satisfying and so funny.

I'm sure. I think that people Well, maybe, and you can testify to this, and we all can, there's almost not a nicer guy or better dude in the world than Adam Sandler.

See, I differ. This monster, I just got everybody fooled.

He's the nicest man. He's the sweetest guy. On top of being so funny and everything's so talented, he's such a good dude.

You really is. He's So smart. So smart. I've worked with him since Airheads, right? That was the first thing that we did.

Oh, my gosh, that's right.

And then he was talking to us on set about how he wanted to do his own film. And Robert Simons, who was one of the producers on Airheads, took him up on it and produced Billy Madison. And Adam asked me to do a small thing that, and it was so much fun. But to watch Adam over the years, because his friends used to show up on set and just hang out. And then each movie I've done with him, I notice, Oh, those friends are now in the movies. Those friends are his writers. Those friends are his producers. Yeah. Not only is he loyal to them, but that's what I mean by smart. He knows what brings out the best in him, and he knows that they will bring gold. And so He makes movies that he wants to see. I don't think Adam ever makes something that he's trying to find an audience for. It's stuff that he really wants, that he wants to see, that he thinks is funny.

Yeah, he really does. He champions people. Also, like you, he's so diverse and has so many different gears. Oh, yeah. It's unbelievable.

I was so happy for him that when he started doing dramatic roles, and I was so pissed off at myself that I hadn't I had written something dramatic for him first because I could see it in him. I used to tell him that. What was it first?

Punchdrunk Love?

He's an amazing musician. Yeah, Punchdrunk Love was the first one, I think, that really- That was a great movie. Where people started to see him in a different light. Then, of course, was Uncut Gems. I mean, come on. Yeah, forget it. That was incredible.

Well, Steve, what an absolute delight. I'm sorry that we never... That you and I didn't speak to each other at the Emmies and all made up for today.

We did exchange a few words.

We didn't really go deep, but we were both losers. We weren't just losers that night. But what a thrill to have you, man. It just honestly just such an absolute- I'm so excited to have met you, Steve.

Thank you so much. Thank you for doing this. It's such an honor for me to be with you guys.

And Wednesday on Netflix, August sixth. We look forward to it. Season 2 of Wednesday. Steve, just sending you lots of love and all the best of luck and continued success. You're just the greatest.

Thank you. And sending love and all the success to you guys, too. Thank you, Paul. I love what you do. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Enjoy the rest of your summer.

The great Steve Buscemi. Thank you, Steve. Bye, buddy. Thank you.

Bye, bye, bye.

Bye.

How about that guy?

Talking about a guy who's done it all.

Yeah. Yeah, that was that. I'm still a little in shock there. That's a guy I'm just such an enormous fan of his. I just For some reason, he just seems like a guy I always thought I would never, ever be able to meet. It's just like one of those guys is like, zero circles I know or that I'm in.

He just lives in a cool zone.

Yeah, he's not out there fucking cutting ribbons at markets and premieres and shit like that. He's just like... If I got lucky enough to maybe be in a project with him, but what are the odds?

Wait, are you spending time with a lot of ribbon cutters?

Oh, Yeah, I'd bring my own scissors. I'm a germaphobe.

He is good, Willy. When you announced him, when you were revealing and Jason guessed it, I was like, right away, and I was like, oh, yeah. He came on as one of those people like Jay to say, Oh, Oh, my God, it'd be so cool to hang out with him. Oh, we're hanging out with him.

I know. I know. I know. It's just a thrill.

What a fucking talent. Talk about what he lends each project, and you know he's in the cast list. I agree. It's like, oh, okay, so they're not fucking around on this film.

He raises all boats.

I didn't know he did stand up like I did.

You should have tried some of your standup.

Oh, I have some.

Oh, do you? Oh, really? Sean, do you want anything you're workshopping?

Yeah, let's hear it.

What did the sushi say to the bee?

What? Give me a second here.

Oh, Shane. Wasabi.

You really got J. B. With Because there's a lot in there that is close to my heart.

The mock bro talk. The pun? And the underused sushi mustard. I just don't think gets a fair shake in this world. Then bees, of course. Who was it? They're my arch nemesis. Bees?

Bees? Bees? Do you want one more?

Do you want one more? Of course we do.

Okay. What does an Irishman call 66% of a piece of pooh?

That's two-thirds of something. Two-thirds.

That's right.

Oh, that's good. There we go. Nice, J. B.

Thanks. Say, Thank you guys.

Two-thirds. That's what's hard.

That's like a combination. That's like a- Here we go. Hybrid of- Here we go. Hybrid. What's the opposite of a hybrid? I can't even think of it.

Gas burning?

No, that would be a hybrid.

That would be a bi-bred? Bi-bred? No, not at all. That's not a thing. No. What are you fucking talking about?

It's like a hybrid joke of two.

How about maybe you were going towards, you got those airplanes with the jets, and then the other planes that don't have the jets. Oh, that's good.

Those are- So it's like, bye.

Bye.

Bye. Bye. Bye.

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