He's the weasel. The thief. The loser. The smartass. Steve Buscemi has made a career out of playing lowlifes who just can't catch a break, from "Reservoir Dogs'" Mr. Pink in 1992 to the kidnapper who met his fate in a wood chipper in 1996's "Fargo." But as an actor, writer, producer and director, Buscemi has hit the Hollywood "quadfecta" without having to leave his own back yard (he grew up in Long Island) or the indie scene where he first got noticed: as an AIDS-stricken rock star in 1986's "Parting Glances." Recently, Buscemi wrapped Tim Burton's "Big Fish," directed the now-shelved pilot for HBO's "Baseball Wives" and has pulled slots as director and co-star of some of next season's episodes of HBO's "The Sopranos." That he is to receive an IFP Gotham Award on Monday begs only one question: Why didn't it happen sooner? Buscemi spoke recently with Randee Dawn for The Hollywood Reporter.



The Hollywood Reporter: So, you're local. You've put color into some great indie films. Why do you think the IFP didn't get to you sooner?

Steve Buscemi: (Chuckling) I'm still young! In the beginning, it wasn't even a question of deciding I'm going to do independent film and not commercial films — I wasn't being offered any commercial films, and there wasn't an independent scene. I did a lot of "so-called" independent films that were really low-budget films trying to be commercial. But you certainly make choices when you have a script written by Jim Jarmusch or the Coen brothers or Alexandre Rockwell; I think any actor would feel lucky to be able to work on projects like that.



THR: Is getting this award different from receiving other awards or nominations?

Buscemi: Well, for one, you know you're getting it, so you have time to think of something to say. Knowing it this far in advance just makes me that much more nervous for all these weeks. And it also means a lot because it's coming from New York and the IFP. It's very nice.



THR: You didn't have a lifelong acting ambition, it seems. You discovered it as a senior in high school, correct?

Buscemi: In high school, I didn't really hang out with the theater kids, so it was something that was foreign to myself and my friends. I didn't think I'd be taken seriously, and I thought the only way I could do this was to move to California. Plus, I thought that's where you had to be to be an actor. I really had no idea of the theater scene that was happening in Manhattan. I was living in Long Island, and it may as well have been the Midwest. I really had no clue.



THR: Yet, here you are, decades later. Does that come as a surprise?

Buscemi: Yeah because it could very easily have been different. Just making the move into Manhattan was a big step. I remember when I first moved into the city, thinking, I don't know if this is really me; I wasn't sure if I would continue. But then something just clicked, and once I got over the initial fear, there was something about the city because it wasn't like I was getting work — I was working as a furniture mover and busboy.



THR: And eventually at Engine Company 55 as a fireman, right?

Buscemi: That came later, after I had been living in the city for a couple of years. I had already been living in the city and was taking acting classes on and off. I was also trying stand-up comedy and trying to audition for plays and films, but I didn't have an agent. It was all stuff where I'd look in Backstage and send my picture and résumé out, but my résumé barely had anything on it. When the fire department called, I thought, Why not? It wasn't like I had any career going acting-wise, and I needed a change. I didn't even realize how important it would become to me. The funny thing was when I was doing that job, it also gave me more free time to pursue theater. You could work a 24-hour shift and then be off three days in a row, so it gave me time to do other things. Everything happened pretty slowly and gradually. The same with getting into film. When I think back on it now, it is surprising, but as it was happening — it was step by step by step.



THR: You've said before that being an actor helps you understand what other actors need; that, in turn, helps you as a director.

Buscemi: I think that's what helps me. You'd think I'd know what other actors need, but that's not always the case. I could see something and know in my mind how it should be played, but it's not always easy to articulate that to an actor. One of the things I do, maybe from being an actor, is to give actors time to themselves because that's important — to see what the actor does and give them time to work through it and figure things out without having to say, "This is what I want."



THR: So, where are you going to put your big Gotham Award? Do you have a place for such prizes?

Buscemi: Um, it's not like I have a lot where I can say, "Well, I put one here and one there." I really don't know. I'm not even sure what it looks like!