There aren’t a lot of actors that have managed to reinvent themselves as many times as Steve Buscemi. For 30 years, Buscemi has been one of the most entertaining character actors in the industry, and any time he pops up in a new film it's a treat. It's amazing to look back at just how many great films Buscemi has been involved with; the fact that he’s never been nominated for an Academy Award is one of the biggest crimes in Oscar history.
Thirty years ago, Buscemi announced himself to a generation with his breakthrough success at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival, where he starred in both the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic award winner In the Soup and the most profitable acquisition Reservoir Dogs. Buscemi has continued to deliver interesting performances in the three decades that followed; in addition to stepping behind the camera to direct, he also led the critically acclaimed HBO crime series Boardwalk Empire and appeared for a memorable run on The Sopranos.
When looking at the films that had to be left off of this list, there are a number of great Buscemi appearances including Pulp Fiction, Monsters Inc., Dead Man, Big Fish, The King of Staten Island, Miller’s Crossing, Armageddon, The King of New York, Escape From L.A., and Rampart, and that’s just to name a few! Narrowing down his best work is no easy task. That being said, here are the nine greatest Steve Buscemi movies ranked.
9. The Messenger (2009)
Buscemi only has a brief appearance in the military drama The Messenger, but he delivers one of the most heartbreaking performances in the devastating film. The Messenger follows U.S. Army staff sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) and Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), two casualty notification officers that deliver the painful news to families of men killed in combat. Buscemi plays a devastated father who lashes out at Will and Tony as an instinctive reaction. Usually a movie never has enough of Buscemi, but his scenes in The Messenger are so powerful that they’re hard to rewatch.
8. Con Air (1997)
Con Air is genuinely one of the most insane action movies ever made. Nicolas Cage’s eccentric performance as the unfairly convicted army veteran Cameron Poe would be hard to top, but the ensemble of character actors that play the villains are equally as weird. Buscemi’s character Garland Green, a serial killer known as “The Marietta Mangler,” is bound to his chair for nearly the entire criminal flight. When he escapes, it's just an excuse for Buscemi to do weird bits. There’s an uncomfortably awkward scene where he sings with a young girl and a hilarious ending moment when he decides to hit the Las Vegas gambling tables.
7. The Death of Stalin (2017)
The Death of Stalin is deceptively scary because of how funny it is. Veep creator Armando Iannucci examined the aftermath of the Soviet Union dictator’s death in hilarious detail, and followed Stalin’s inner circle as they scramble to keep the country afloat, argue over who should take control, and end up massacring the innocent civilians. Buscemi plays Stalin’s First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, who is both the funniest and most brutal character in the film. Buscemi mastered the difficult task of doing wacky bits (such as when he must pass along secret information during Stalin’s funeral) and depict a true historical villain, whose reign of terror is still felt today.
6. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
It's almost impossible to overstate the seismic impact that Reservoir Dogs had on the history of cinema; whether you’re a fan of Quentin Tarantino or not, you have to acknowledge how his directorial debut proved that independent films could be marketed to mass audiences and created a unique style that would be endlessly imitated. Rattling off the film’s list of great performances would be pointless since there are so many, but Buscemi has an important role as Mr. Pink. Pink’s opening remarks about refusing to tip employees and his deconstruction of the lyrics to “Like A Virgin” set the tone for the rest of the film.
5. Fargo (1996)
The Coen Brothers have a number of recurring faces, such as Frances McDormand, John Goodman, Stephen Root, and John Turturro, and Buscemi is another great actor that fits within whatever quirky aesthetic they have in mind. Fargo is a high point within their collaborations, as both the Coens and Buscemi capture a murky mix of tragedy and absurdity that made the film a modern classic. Fargo is all about horrible people who face the consequences of their actions; the low level criminal Carl Showalter (Buscemi) meets a shocking fate after he and his partner Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) kidnap a pregnant woman.
4. Living in Oblivion (1995)
Living in Oblivion is a film that any aspiring filmmaker should watch to learn about the reality of the industry. The breakthrough independent comedy focuses on three hilariously chaotic days on the set of an indie film where the director Nick Reve (Buscemi) suffers multiple mental breakdowns. Between dealing with egocentric actors, managing lighting changes that cause continuity errors, and failing in his romantic pursuit of the leading lady Nicole (Catherine Keener), Reve wonders if all of his efforts are even worth it. Buscemi captures an existential sadness that any artist can relate to.
3. The Big Lebowski (1998)
If Buscemi is best known as a cult favorite, then it's only fitting that he's an essential part of one of the greatest cult films of all-time. Like many Coen Brothers films, it’s hard to narrow down a standout within The Big Lebowski because of how many great performances there are, but any interaction between the Dude (Jeff Bridges), Walter Sobchak (John Goodman), and Donny Kerabatsos (Buscemi) are endlessly quotable. There aren’t a lot of film characters that have inspired such amazingly far-fetched fan theories as Donny.
2. Ghost World (2001)
Ghost World is the closest Buscemi ever got to an Oscar nomination (he received many critics’ prizes), and it's a performance that identifies why he’s such a great character actor. His character Seymour is a strangely sympathetic loser who doesn’t fit within normal society, and you’re never quite sure if it’s okay to laugh at his hilariously heartbreaking experiences. Seymour is a lonely record collector, who is cruelly tricked into thinking he’s on a date by the two teenage girls Enid Coleslaw (Thora Birch) and Rebecca Doppelmeyer (Scarlett Johansson). Enid regrets her pranks for the first time, and the heartfelt relationship she forms with Seymour is a wonderful union of weirdos.
1. Trees Lounge (1996)
It's only fitting that Buscemi’s cinematic directorial debut is just as off the beaten path as he is. The underrated 1996 independent film Trees Lounge is a slice of life story that follows the darkly humorous lengths that the mechanic Tommy Basilio (Buscemi) goes to in order to stay sober. After losing his job and girlfriend of eight years, Tommy tries to reinvent his life by taking a job as an ice cream truck driver and connecting with his niece Debbie (Chloe Sevingy). He’s the type of tragically misfortune guy that Buscemi was born to play, and he is just as skilled as a darkly comedic voice behind the camera as he is in front of it.