This Day in Indie History: Steve Buscemi

by MovieMaker Staff | Published December 13, 2006

As each year goes by, Steve Buscemi racks up movie upon movie, with at least three credits a year for the past five years. The prolific moviemaker, born on this day in 1957, has acted in over 100 films since 1985, but perhaps is best known for his role as the talkative, “funny-lookin’” ex-con, Carl Showalter, in the Coen brothersâ€™ Fargo. In 1996, his writing and directorial debut, Trees Lounge, was released and in 2001 he was nominated for an Emmy for his direction of an episode of â€œThe Sopranos.â€ Audiences might also recognize his distinctive voice when watching the animated films Monsters, Inc., Home on the Range, Monster House and this month’s Charlotte’s Web.

Quotable: “I admire any director who makes his living solely from directing. Iâ€™m fortunate enough to earn a decent wage by occasionally playing psychopaths in other peopleâ€™s movies, allowing me the luxury of not having to depend on the movies I direct to put food on the table.” (Steve Buscemi in MovieMaker Magazine, Issue #62)