Steve Buscemi
53:56 Share

Yes, I have actually stayed at Airbnbs from time to time. And truth be told, I do really like them. I'm being totally honest right now that I've had great experiences with them. Yeah. I mean, you can have your look at you go get your own place, get your own pool, your own living room. You're not going to walk in an elevator. You're not going to see people when you're walking around in your undergarments. Yeah.

Yes. And if you don't understand what we're talking about, you should go online. What we're saying is you have a house with a kitchen and a bathroom and it's just for you, tailored for you. You liked your Airbnb over a hotel. Yes. And I do think I've had relatives stay nearby and sometimes it's very nice for them to do an Airbnb and have a little house and they're not underfoot. The last thing you want is your house guest to say, excuse me, um,

Where would I find a towel? That's a toughie when it's because they're naked. Well, it's like the 1800 time you say on the towel rack. Yeah. Thank you. I was going to look there. People don't even think hotels sometimes just go, hey, I'll go there. I'll get an Airbnb. So you won't regret it.

As a Ford owner, there are lots of choices of where you get your vehicle serviced. You can choose to go to their place, the local dealership, your place, home, apartment, condo, your workplace, even your happy place, like your cottage on the lake. Go to your Ford dealer and choose Ford pickup and delivery to have your vehicle picked up, serviced, and brought right back.

Or choose mobile service where a technician will come to you and do routine maintenance right on the spot. Both are complimentary and depend on your location. That's ownership built around you. Contact your participating dealer or visit FordService.com for important details and limitations. Boo Boo Shemmy. Steve Boo Shemmy, friend of the show.

A friend of the show, what a treat. We got to know him, we meaning me and myself and I and David. Got to hang out with him a lot in Washington, D.C. for the Sandler Mark Twain Award. And so we sang songs together, we hung out. Couldn't be a nicer guy. One of our great...

I know he's just been around a long time. When Steve Buscemi is in a movie, you're always happy, David. Yeah. First of all, he's very interesting dude. He's very earnest. He jokes around, but he's got a very quiet coolness to him. He goes back to from right when he hit the scene that he's always had such a attention scene stealing look.

And he backs up with great acting. He's a great guy to have around. He's in a lot of Sandler stuff. And I sort of met him through the Sandlerverse. And then I just see him at different events. That old Happy Madison party. And so we've gotten to where we can shoot the shit. And it was a great time with him. Glad he did it.

Yeah, he's done movies with the Coen brothers. Fargo was the one that I think got him incredibly noticed. We talk about that movie. And then he's directing a new movie. It's his second directing effort in 10 years. And he goes into that very interesting. He'll tell you all about that, which is fun. And he's just a nice, humble guy. He just has a great sense of humor.

Yeah, we try to get them out of the shell and crack up, and we always have fun. Guys like that who are just innately cool dudes, and he's got a very good funny bone, so he liked it. We cracked up. I cracked up. Yeah. Without further ado, click play, and then hear a commercial. When I did grown-up stuff, oh my God, a few people remember. I heard so close. Well, you were in grown-ups, but the one I was in that, I don't know if you, this was the one.

You were in the cast at which one is that? Is that both of them? I was in both of them. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So, so the one where, but Dana, this is boring as fucking shit, but I'm messing with Steve will crack up. You're already mesmerized. That's good. Okay. So we're doing a drunk, a scene where we're all around and it's nighttime and, and, uh, we're all drinking and the couples start to pair off and slow dance. And this Joe Walsh song comes on or something. And I, uh,

or not Josh, but sentimental lady. And I go, oh no, oh, this is a good song. And I'm drunk and I get up and I sort of stumble around and then I interrupt Adam and Salma and then I wind up falling down drunk. But it's a seven page scene and we're all in it. So it's hard to shoot. So we shoot it all night one night and we get to my coverage and they go, it's getting light. We'll pick that up another time. And I'm like, another time? Because I just had it all memorized because I'm doing it all night. And I'm like, I'm kind of glad I'm last because I have a lot of lines.

So three weeks later,

McCartney is playing in Boston. We're pretty close. We might be in Swamp Squad. I just do this. McCartney sounds. Yes. I thought he was here. I was looking around. When did he jump on? So I go, Chris Rock is in the movie. And I say, Chris, McCartney's in Boston tonight. And he goes, his ticket is...

lady was my third grade teacher and i said oh my god he goes let's call her right now and he goes we're all dialed in i said we're done around six seven we haul ass we found exactly when he goes on and then he goes and he wants to say hi right before we're like oh my god wow so about right before the end of the day it was maybe jack or someone came into my trailer and goes

we're gonna pick yours up tonight i go pick up my what and they go remember that yeah remember that scene you didn't finish i'm like like it's my fault i go yeah i didn't finish it right and he goes i think tonight's gonna go no it's not it's fucking paul mccartney you're just not a worker you know you're not a real worker paul mccartney waited till midnight to go on he's like are they coming

God, he's 81 and he's up for half the night? Yeah, so I go in, Steve, and then they go, I said, do not bring that fucking cast in to do all their shit again. I go, I'll do it. I said, I can't do that to them. So they gladly all scrammed. And then it was Sandler, you know, he's overseeing it. And then, um,

I'm doing it to, you know, a bunch of like tennis balls or whatever, the eye lines. And I do my whole seven pages. I'm drunk. And so I come to video village. This is sort of the point of the story. Yeah. And, uh, wait. And I'm like, like Adam, like we got it. And, uh, yes, I haven't taken any classes, but yes, I'm really good. And I sit there and he's just looking at it going. Yeah.

And I go, we watched the playback and I'm behind him kind of chuckling, like this is working. And then he goes, were you drunk or last time? Were you, was it a little, it was a little different. I don't know if it's matching. And I'm like, so I go play me back something from the last time, you know? And I was, and so we were trying to go, okay. And it was really hard to match the exact tone.

of the drunkenness sounds crazy, but I go, I'm going to go under on this one. And then I come back and then I go, okay, I'm going to go a little bigger.

And we did it until it made sense. Now, when you see the movie, you don't even notice, but it kind of fits in. Oh, you notice. I noticed when I saw it. You go, he's medium plus drunk. David is a little drunker in this line. Yeah. 30 seconds later, he's slightly less drunk. Just play it six and a half Tito's and Diet Cokes. And I'm like, ooh, that's a big one. Okay, I can play that. And then I'm...

So that just shows you, first of all, Adam's eye is always on the ball. And little things like that matter. And you can't tell yourself when you're acting and you need someone else's eyes to go,

It was good. I just don't think it's exactly what we had. And so it took a little bit of a collabing right there. And then that's kind of fun when you finish and you feel like you got it right. And everyone goes, got it. And then you all go home and you go, got it, got it. And you just knock it out. I have two questions for you. Did you make it to the concert? Not a fucking chance. It was until 2 a.m. We did that. All right. Well, I guess my second question is not a question. It's a comment about Adam because Adam,

I agree with you. He's always so involved in like, you know, all the, all the films. And I said to him, why don't, why don't you ever direct? Yeah. I said, and he said, he didn't, doesn't want a location scout. Like that was the extra extra work. Yeah. It was the reason he works morning, noon, night anyway. I mean, there's block he's re-blocking. He's doing things that directors all do. So I think he's listened to so much in D Wayne. It's sort of just, you know,

uh given then he's going to have a lot of say but uh

I guess you're right. It's that extra going around. Well, it's a little bit like Saturday Night Live. If you write a sketch, you're sort of the de facto director. We had Davey Wilson. He's setting up shots. He's got just, it's live, so it's not, but you're still kind of the boss of your sketch. You're the producer and the director if you wrote it. You're casting it with other cast members. And Sandler is like that. He's like a co-co-director. I mean, he's sort of, everyone knows he's the overarching character

creative force. He's got his eye on every ball. So I think the way he did it was brilliant. You know, I don't think anybody else in history has done that many movies where they are in a sense an auteur. Right. It is Adam, you know, and he puts his stamp. I mean, definitely when he the fact that he actually cares and even when we're doing movies where you think this will probably not get good reviews just because they have a sort of bias.

He still puts everything into it and really cares. I mean, another grownup story is, do you have a half hour is, um, I get, we'll get you in a minute. Steve, the listener is out March 29th. I'm just going to say all I wanted. Everyone is jump off March 29th. If you want a great ride in a movie theater, a sophisticated adult drama, beautifully done by Steve Buscemi. Boom.

Your publicist right now is actually having a glass of champagne, even if they're in AA. They go, Steve, you can check out for the rest of this. And now David Spade. So now we're going to have David. I want to ask Steven, when did he get fitted for the full body cast? And what was his reaction to going?

Wait, what do I do here? Or do you see the script and go, oh, yeah, I could tell. Yeah. And that one, even on the day, like, because I remember and the whole cast was there, you know, because it's like one of the big scenes and it was starting to started to rain.

And they got the scene and then everybody just scatters. I thought these are like, I thought we were friends. Like you're left out there. Nobody's checking on me. Like everybody just like, and then the AD, then I thought I was done. And the AD said, well,

I think they want to get a shot where the dog comes up and sniffs your balls. And I actually got mad. I went, are you fucking kidding me?

Are your real hands in the real sticking straight up like goalposts or do they put fake hands in there so you don't have to put fake hands? Thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus. I thought it was real until right now. I just went, wait a second. Could you hold your hands up all day? Because also the thing about it, when you're like that, like if I was being like that, I go, well, obviously they're going to shoot me out first. And no one even gives a fat fuck about

They're like, nope. Oh, Buscemi, we never picked up. We'll get him at the end. We'll come to you while you're rotting and getting rusty. Yeah, it is tough. Movies are so complex and especially grownups. You got 55 leads.

Oh my God. There's so many people. Yeah. That are on set. And I don't know how the producers and the ADs do it, but they somehow manage. And just, just for the people, young people listening that are in the groundlings or whatever, and aspiring to have a career in television or movies, we understand these are first world problems. Sure. Stupid. But, but, um,

The thing is, you're on a movie set. I would say the most tired I've ever been, because it was one of those 21-hour days, and they said, okay, Garth's going to go in the diner. I'm going to do this thing I worked on for weeks, this dance. And I'm going... And I was young and fit. I go, I am...

as tired as I've ever been in my life. I'd been up like 40 hours and here's your shot for eternity. Go for it. Oh, at the very end of the night, they get you. Yeah. Well, that's with Steve's film. I'm assuming like Woody Allen would do like night shoots would end at eight o'clock. Let's say, you know, I think we should get some Chinese, you know, did you, uh, were you able to have civilized hours in a sense for the listener? March 29th. Yeah.

Pretty much. But we know we wanted to, we knew we had nighttime shots so that by the end of the week, we were going to be shooting outside. So, you know, we started at the beginning of the week, normal hours. And then each day we would just start a little bit later. By the end of the week, it was night shoots. Going to splits, lingo, lingo. You know, I wasn't going to say splits. Yeah, splits is lingo. And I want the people want to hear it.

This year, Dell Technologies' Back to School event is delivering impressive tech with an inspiring purpose. With every qualifying purchase, Dell will donate to ComputerAid, who equips solar community hubs with tech and AI literacy skills to empower remote, displaced, or disconnected communities around the world.

This is your chance to empower people globally through AI access and digital opportunity while upgrading your tech now powered by Snapdragon X series processors for game changing performance and to power efficiency. Help Dell make a difference. Shop AI ready PCs and get free shipping on everything at dell.com slash deals. Purchase any PC or monitor between

For details and restrictions,

Go to dell.com slash deals. If you've ever been to the market for a new home, you know how home shopping can be. And that can be a lot. There's so much you don't know and so much you actually do need to know. What are the neighborhoods like? Good question. What are the schools like? Who is the agent who knows the listing or neighborhood best? And why can't all this information just be in one place? Maybe it is. Why can't it?

Guess what? It is. Now it is on homes.com.

They've got everything you need to know about the listing itself, but even better, hold on. They've got comprehensive neighborhood guides and detailed reports about local schools and their agent directory helps you see the agent's current listing and sales history. Wow. That sounds good. Homes.com collaboration tools make it easier than ever to share all this information with your family. It's a whole cul-de-sac of home shopping information.

All at your fingertips. Holmes.com. We've done your homework. First of all, we were watching your movie this morning. This is The Listener, right, Dana? The Listener is a heavy film. It's very, very interesting. The conceit of it, this volunteer helpline woman. I mean, we'll talk to him in a minute. It is your movie that Steve directed. It's compelling, and it just kind of captures...

The angst, post-pandemic angst, or just human angst and sadness, it's extremely well done and well acted by Tessa Thompson, who is the only actor in the film. You go ahead, Steve. Well, she's the only actor that we see in the film. Thank you. There's an amazing cast of callers. Yeah, she plays a home helpline worker. She works the night shift. She works from home.

And she gets all these calls during the night that she navigates. And we have a wonderful cast of the callers. But you only hear their voices. And you only see Tessa on screen for the duration of the film. And she's amazing. Because they are characters also. And I was watching with someone. And the first guy that called in.

She was more into the guy. She was like, I like his voice. I like his tone. I like what he's saying. I like this guy. And so it's actually a big challenge to be a voice and to have any sort of resonance or impact. And Tessa is obviously great on her end. She's got a very calm, soothing voice. And she's, you know, she could get very riled. And it seems she's got a very, you have to, to have that sort of job.

That's what her whole job is. And very interesting. I think what she worked with was, you know, because we did everything we could to make it cinematic. You know, if this was pre-pandemic and she was at a call center where she was, you know, kind of tethered to a desk. I don't know how I would have made that film. But because she is able to work at home, we purposefully made.

Found a location that had a nice flow to it that she could walk around, be in different rooms, go outside. And yeah, what's amazing about Tessa is that, yeah, her voice was, you know, she always tried to keep, you know, like a calm level tone. But then you could see on her face if she was upset about something that somebody said or worried. Yeah, she had a lot of these.

micro expressions that, you know, sort of gave you an inkling of what she was going through herself. And you know what she really captured, which

You do a lot when you're young anyway, where you're like a girl or something, and then you'll talk on the phone at night. It's very intimate. And these two people, Tess' character and the stranger's calling, and they don't know each other. It's very dim. It's the middle of the night, and they're having this intimate conversation, and the voice actors...

immediately the first one just sounded very, just extremely real. Like your eavesdropping, you know, you captured that. So thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate you guys watching it. Yeah. Uh, you know, the voices, uh, first of all, I kind of want to ask you one other question, but about this, but when I was on the phone as a kid or dating or doing anything in life, the voice was kind of a fingerprint. So when I think of

Women I've dated in the past or present, a voice is one thing I really appreciate in people because they are fingerprints. It's so unique. And I think I was brainwashed growing up, like trying to talk to girls on the phone and talking for hours with somebody you liked.

And you always remember that. And sometimes people get older and everything, but you know their voice right away. Right. And so when I go into 7-Eleven and if I ask for something, they go, oh, I was waiting to hear you talk. That is you. So, you know, it's kind of interesting. So when you have people call in, it's very powerful to have the right person with the right, because you have to make them all a little different. And that's a trick. And then you have to make

for people that don't know that sort of a indie budget is like, if you have one location, what you were saying is you have to use some trickery and some movements and some things to keep it alive. And you did that. And that's the hard part with one subject and one location. It's, it's, it's less expensive, but it's very, it's hard to keep it going. So to make a good movie is tough. We also, we also shot the movie in six days because it's,

Tessa was still working on Westworld, the HBO show. And that was her hiatus. She had seven days off and she chose to work with us. We were trying to find a window and she's so busy with other films and other things. But she had that one week off. So we shot the entire film in that one week, which was doable because it is a confined space.

Space and one actor went still it was it was it was a bit of a challenge and another interesting for a Layer frequency. I don't know. I didn't I went to state school Is this idea when you take on a role like when you see a teacher outside of school you go? They're just normal. What are they doing? So in this case her character Has their own issues and yet she's in the helper mode. It's like when you have a therapist and

And you kind of wonder what's going on with them, you know? So that was a whole nother layer to the film that the people don't, you know, she's just in the helper mode and then she's in that mode, but she had so many other issues herself. So, yeah. I mean, I think most of the people who do that work have been through it themselves. And part of the conceit of the film is that Tessa's character, she breaks protocol because you're not really supposed to,

tell your personal story to callers, but she does so for this one call where this woman is in crisis. And she reveals a lot about herself in order to help or save the person that she's talking with. But I know what you mean about seeing people out of context, like seeing your therapist on the street or

I remember when I was a kid, I went to Catholic school and I remember one time during lunch seeing my teacher, who was a nun, eat a sandwich and I was blown away. What? You eat? It's true. You never see him eat. They never eat. I saw Pastor Jerry. I was raised Lutheran.

uh, pastor Jerry at the mall and he's wearing desert boots. And I go, pastor Jerry wears desert boots. Cause those were very cool back in the days. You know, I saw a rabbi on a pogo stick and I was like, what are you? You're never on that. Um, right. I know.

You know, Steve, I'm looking at this. There's so much Dana about Steve that we love because he's a, Oh, actually one more question about the movie before I get into your illustrious. I have a question about the movie too. Okay. My last one is being a well known actor and a name. And, uh, I don't want to hype you up too bad, but you know, you direct in your, uh, well-liked guy out there. Is it still hard to get a small movie off the ground?

Yes, this is the first film I've directed in 15 years.

And there were others along the way that I tried to do. This one was, you know, hard to get off the ground as well. We, but yeah, I think the climate out there is tough for any filmmaker. But, you know, but where there's a world, there's a way. And we did it. You got through it. Yeah. Single location helps with the budget. And were you like, I was just at, as you're making your film, first film in a long time,

And now it's it's it's digital, digital playback and you're going you get six days. And so you're with your DP or your producer or whatever, and you're looking at stuff. And are you going at some point? Holy shit, this is awesome. Or you're being self-critical or I just wonder what you want us who will enjoy the movie. What do you what did you want us to feel? What were you trying to reach for? And do you feel that you got it?

Yeah, I just, I wanted to create this really intimate atmosphere and have Tessa's, the location be totally her world where you're getting clues about her and for the audience to want to lean in and be involved. And it is exciting to see that on set. It's also overwhelming because there's so much

dialogue in it. And so I'm constantly thinking, you know, I try not to think of the editing process while I'm doing it, but yeah, I mean, that's things that you have to think about. And is it, is there enough movement? Is there, is, you know, when should it be still when, you know, when or if the camera should, should move, when should Tessa get up and move around? And so we spent a lot of time actually, you know,

working that stuff out before we shot it. Did you ever once on the set after a take just go, what are you doing? Like Sandler? You sound like Sandler. You know, Dana, I think we have a connection. We've been friends for a long time. And for this episode of Fly on the Wall, we've partnered with eHarmony.

which isn't us. eHarmony is a dating app to find someone you can be yourself with. We are not dating. I want to clarify that. But the connection is what you want in a dating partner. Just someone like, if you found someone that listened to this podcast, that's somewhat of a connection. And then you sort of build on that. You want someone with some common ground. Yeah. It's not, look, if you want to connect romantically over, you know, super fly or fly on the wall, yeah.

It just makes us happy. You don't want to be watching The Godfather and the person next to you goes, this movie sucks. So dumb. Yeah. You want to connect on all issues and harmonize in life. Similar sensibility, similar sense of humor, and similar sense of sense. I don't like when they watch The Godfather and they're like, everyone in this movie is so old. I'm like, they're 40.

Watch 2001 Space Odyssey. Too much of this movie is in outer space. I don't like it. When do they land? When do they land? Why is that stupid red light acting so silly? Who's friends with a robot? We know dating isn't easy. That's why we partnered with eHarmony because dating is different on eHarmony. They want you to find someone who gets you, someone you can be comfortable with.

Yeah. I mean, the whole idea is you're going to take a compatibility quiz, helps your personality come out in your profile, which makes all the profiles on eHarmony way more interesting and fun to read. So I think this is the goal of dating sites, and I think eHarmony does it great. It's just finding somebody you're compatible with.

So get started today with a compatibility quiz. So you can find some and you can be yourself with. Get Who Gets You on eHarmony. Sign up today. Robert Half Research indicates 9 out of 10 hiring managers are having difficulty hiring. If you have open roles, chances are you're feeling this too. That's why you need Robert Half.

Our specialized recruiting professionals engage their skills with our award-winning AI to connect businesses of all sizes with highly skilled talent in finance and accounting, technology, marketing, and creative, legal and administrative, and customer support.

At Robert Half, we know talent. Visit roberthalf.com today. Dana, the road to getting engaged can be long and full of memories. Oh, yeah. Or it can be short and thrilling or somewhere in between. But the road to finding the perfect engagement ring is straightforward path every time. All you got to do is head over to good old bluenile.com. Good news, David, on bluenile.com.

You can create a bigger, more brilliant piece than you can imagine at a price you won't find at a traditional jeweler. The original online jeweler since 1999, they've committed to ensuring that the highest ethical standards are observed when sourcing diamonds and jewelry. Their diamond price guarantee means that in most cases they can meet or beat a competitor's price on a comparable diamond.

Every Blue Nile order is insured and arrives in packaging that won't give away what's inside. In most cases, can be delivered overnight. You got 100% satisfaction guarantee. Guaranteed free shipping and returns. So you can make sure your ring is the one, the one you want.

And because you want that love to last forever, you get guaranteed service and repair on it for life. These are great deals. I got to say, you know, I mean, you just want to have that loved one pick up that box and go, honey, I don't know what this is. And then you say, well, maybe you should open it. Okay. And then you hear, oh my goodness. I love you. I love you. Blue Nile. She says, I love you to blue Nile.

Yeah, because it's such a nice ring. It's an unmarked thing, but then it says Blue Nile somewhere. Yeah. She goes, oh, you couldn't have. You wouldn't have spent that much. Oh, this has got to be a trick. This is too nice. Yeah, no. Right now, get 30% off. Select Lab Grown Diamonds on BlueNile.com. Plus, use code FLY, very important, to get $50 off your engagement ring purchase of $500 or more. What is it?

That's $50 off with CodeFly at BlueNile.com. BlueNile.com. I want to ask a question because Steve's been famous for a long time. So it's hard. You're kind of, you're okay. I get to talk to Steve. It was so much fun hanging out with you and at Sandler's thing in DC, you know, because you're one of the people I'd say, Steve Buscemi's here. I'm, you know, I'm doing this thing with Steve Buscemi and it's like, what? You know, it's like, but yeah,

I just, here's something maybe you've never been asked. Who's more talented, Joel or Ethan Cohen? You have three seconds. Go. They're both hacks. Who likes feet more, Wynton Tarantino or anyone else in the planet? Is he like feet or is that like a fake thing or is that like a joke? I don't know.

I don't know. I don't. And if he did know, he wouldn't tell you. Well, no. He can feed. It's fine. I like things. I just don't know if that's how much. Okay. We've got to...

What's it called when the witness is being very troublesome? I'm a hostile witness. We were trying to trend, Steve. No one knows we exist. We have a sweetheart deal with a feet finder. Okay, I'm reading this. This is what I read about Steve Buscemi because there's so much to know about him. I know. This guy goes, frequently plays fast talkers, frequently plays...

cowardly characters. It's funny. And often characters mixed up in crime. Yes. All true. A little generic, but all true. They're just, Steve's in so many good movies and he's so someone that everyone thinks is cool.

which is where what i'm going for not there yet but i think like con air cool fucking movie just a random movie yeah on air fun big movies i miss those kind of you get to work with nicholas cage and his whole nicholas cage thing it's great um you remember that movie i've had a great cast john malkovich and oh yeah yeah yeah dani trejo

uh can't shoot tell that he's lying i'm working on a malkovich uh nicholas cage why god why um oh you know dana to bore the shit out of steve again and not to bring it back to me and it's not about me i do not i'm timing you this time i read three times for his part in connor for whose part

Yours. And you probably was an offer. I'm sure you got offered it while you were milling it out and swishing it around. They were dragging me to the Valley back and forth going, do it like this, you monkey. And then, uh, they go, no, we got our guy. Thanks. Bye. I never knew that. Wow. You would have been, I have a steep. When's the last time you auditioned for a movie? Yeah. Good one. Oh, wow.

It's been a while. I, yeah, I remember auditioning for a movie and then reading, you know, reading one of the parts and then asking the casting director, can I read for the lead? I was like, well, you know, and she looked at me and she said, oh, no, we're going to get a name for that.

And that's the first time I ever heard that expression. We're going to get a name for that. Like, well, I have a name. And then I thought, oh, I see. I have to get my name known.

I didn't know it worked that way. I just thought if you were. Oh, it's so many things I auditioned for were offers out to people. And I was jumping around to kill time to scare them like we're having auditions right now. I mean, no one no one's good yet. Don't worry. No one's good yet. I hated when he walked into an audition room and I saw all these. This is in the 80s. Baby face men with no chins. Like I go, OK, I get it.

Oh, I get them all. Oh, that's your look? Yeah. They're all lookalikes of me. No chin, baby face. Okay, cherubic. I get it. But I was over 150 at one point, 150 auditions. One time the agent called me, you didn't get it and you frightened them. Oh, I remember auditioning for Barry Levinson.

once and reading you know reading this part and he liked it he went that was good it was good now can you do it and he gave me a very specific direction did it again exactly the same and we both looked at each other i was mortified he was embarrassed and i and i said that wasn't that different was it she went no no okay

Okay. You know, can't take direction. My fucking acting coach shocked. Yes, I had one. They said they might give you direction just to see if you can take direction. A lot of people can't. I'm like, why not? And they're like, it's shocking. They can't. They go, Steve Buscemi. They just start listing people. But honestly, it's like you just say that and you go, oh, I would just change it.

And some people are coached so hard or they're with their teacher or whatever. And they go, this is the right way to do it. Even to the director. They're like, I've got the right way. You don't. Right. And they're just testing you. But I've done that. I bomb every, every commercial audition, even more embarrassing.

Do the Coen brothers give you a line by line reading? Like say the line. They, you know, their writing is so specific, you know, that they really want you to say what's written. And so there's very little. I think I improvised something once on Fargo and I was nervous about it, but they liked it.

But I remember in the beginning when I first started working with them, they, I think in Miller's Crossing, they just wanted my character to be even, you know, he was a fast, he was the fastest talker that I think I ever was. It's hard with lines to do fast talk. Yeah. And they just wanted it even more. Like they just wanted it more intense or more shrill. And I remember doing the scene and,

All I do is talk, talk, talk, talk. Gabriel Byrne had like two words. Then I talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. He would just wait until I stopped talking. Then he would say two words. And there was a whole casino of people behind me on my phone.

coverage and I remember on one of the takes my late wife Jo she came to visit me on set but I didn't know she was there yet and as I'm doing the dialogue with the whole casino you know extras behind me I see her head poke out you know behind somebody to watch and I just stopped talking

Oh, it threw you, yeah. All right, back to one, you know, and it would be a lot of rumbling. And she felt horrible. I could see the look on her face. She knew what happened and she just ducked back out. Yeah. As your brain just switches, you go, wait. Oh, Joe. Yeah, turns you off. You know, Dana, I don't know if you remember this one. Of course you do. I don't know who you played in this. Maybe Travolta. One of my favorite sketches was Welcome Back, Cotter.

Quentin Tarantino's Welcome Back, Cotter. When John hosted. Oh, John was playing John. Okay. John was about to host it and it was Welcome Back, Cotter directed by Quentin Tarantino. And at the end of it,

Yeah, because Michael McKeon was on the show and they had Lenny and Squiggy pop out. Remember? And then I came out at the very end as Mr. Pink and said something like up your hole with a jelly roll, something like that. I remember in the rehearsal was a dress rehearsal show. I was late getting out there and I didn't think it was my fault. I thought I was cued late.

But you probably don't remember this, David, but afterwards, you did give me a little shit about that. Shut the fuck up, did I? You gave me a little bit. You did. You did. You were like, hey, Johnny on the spot there. What happened? Something like that. And they didn't kill me. How dare I? I was nervous, nervous. I was horse shuck and I was in character. Mr. Carter.

I got to play Horseshock. I loved it. I thought that was such a funny idea, funny sketch. It was great. One of my all-time memorable ones. That's fun you got to be in that. And I just watched your monologue of character actors. That was a good idea. People in the audience, cast members, were character actors asking you how to be a lead.

Wait, you remember this? Yeah. They said like, Hey, you're a lead, but you play a lot of character actors, but now you're a leading man.

I play the girl with all the bags at a store. That's the best friend. And then she frat falls out of frame. And then Kristen wig is like, I'm the girl running from the killer with a knife, but I don't know where anyone is. Steve, are you here? So everyone was playing a character and they were asking for your advice to get past being a character actor. I thought it was pretty clever. I thought that was good.

That was good. I should watch that again because I totally blanked that out. I'll send you a link. Thanks. All right. Let me ask you a question. But now that you say it, now that you describe it, I do remember it. Yeah. I mean, it is a blur because you've got 13 sketches. You've hosted, I think, twice. Twice. Yeah. Yeah. So it's hard to remember every nook and cranny, but it was a good job. I thought that was interesting. Like what I remembered about the first time hosting was,

During the dress rehearsal, I came out to do the monologue and I spotted a friend of mine from high school sitting in the front row. And again, it was just like seeing my wife on set. I looked at him and I was like, hey, it's Eddie. And I was like, ah, fuck. What's my, like, I don't know what to do now. On top of your nerves. You see that throws you off. Oh, scary. One take. That's the hard part. I know. You're like, let me start over. Nope.

But thank God it was a dress rehearsal. And then for the show, I just told myself, just don't look at anybody. Just avoid eye contact. So what a run you had in the 90s. And then SNL calls. You'd been in at least five giant movies, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction,

um when did fargo come out yeah that came out like in 96 i was surprised that i got the call for it because i didn't think i had really done enough to like warrant me being like that people would even know me uh but john tatura was also on that year and i thought oh is this the year that they're like going after uh

independent film actors or something. And I was like, I'm so thrilled to get it. But I was nervous that I think I suggested, because in the opening monologue, it was some monologue about my name, Steve, and it just wasn't me. And I was nervous about that. So I sort of addressed that.

And then I suggested something. I can't remember who came up with the idea that we were going to like, I was going to take suggestions from the audience and do like an improv with the rest of the cast. And then I would just insert scenes from movies that I was in. But part of, but the ulterior motive was to like, to remind people I was in Fargo or Reservoir Dogs. People wouldn't know like, well, who was this guy? Um,

But I was glad that they changed that. I was very sort of shy to say, do I have to do this opening monologue? Can we change it? And Lorne was really open to it and receptive. But that first time you host, it's just so...

Mind boggling. I was so anxious and I didn't know if I was allowed to say anything or contribute. And even though they were asking me, like, is there anything that you like to do or you have any special talents? Can you sing? Yeah. Whatever you want. Right. Do you feel like you're being a problem if you say too much on the set? Yeah. Yeah.

And then also, like, what do I know? Like, aren't, like, you're the experts. Yeah, you put yourself in their hands. I think they just test you to say, we have a sketch we've been sitting on, but we need someone that can speak Russian or we need someone that can, you know, sing. And they, and yeah, and you need just dialects and weird shit. And you go, I can juggle. They go, okay, we can put that in something. And then that helps. Did, did Lorne...

calm me down or is he sort of imposing in his own way? But normally he would really take a host. You go to dinner with him. You'll be nervous on the dress rehearsal and then on air, it'll all just come together. That's yeah. He's kind of both. He's very intimidating and comforting at the same, you know, kind of at the same time. Cause he's so calm, you know, that it like, and it's no, this is what we do and you'll be fine. And it's like, okay.

I'll believe you. Do you, you know, we had an old movie you did. It was called airheads. I saw it again on the flight. Cause we had lovely Brent and Frazier on who was a super sweetheart. He's great. And then for Sandler for seeing airheads again, cause I went and saw it on a Broadway and like,

wherever there's that little theater in New York during, I think it was SNL. And I saw the whole thing again. Pretty fun to see the whole thing again. And Billy Madison, of course, is such a big one.

that people remember you from. I did one day on that movie. And everyone remembers it. When you crossed the list of who to kill, that thing? Yeah, yeah. So memorable. He calls me up and he apologizes for his bullying behavior in high school. And then I cross his name off. Just people to kill? And then I, for no reason at all, I just put on lipstick. Which, that was my favorite part. Yeah.

You know, we went, I mean, being the character actor is great. We saw Sandler tape his thing. I thought I might see it. He's doing his standard special. I know. And Bridget was there. Yeah. Veronica Vaughan, the teacher in Billy Madison. And, and I said, you get to be for history.

And one of Farley's funniest things saying that Veronica is one fine piece of ace. And then Billy goes, you weren't with her. And he goes, I had a couple fun nights with her. No, you didn't. He goes, I know I didn't.

or whatever he says it's so funny it's very very very chris yeah it was like yeah he plays the bus driver in philly man so funny yeah yeah that's fun it's fun to be a part of even like that one scene you did just from everyone remembers i loved and you know yeah and chris was in airheads and i remember when we did the read-through and afterwards

Chris said to me, there's a part in Airheads where, you know, like my character gets angry and I'm like yelling at Adam. And Chris says to me, wow, Steve, when you were yelling that one time, you sounded just like you did in Reservoir Dogs. And I kind of looked at him like, what are you saying? And I realized Chris really was that way. Like when he had that sketch on SNL. Yeah. Oh, God, you know, remember when you were in the Beatles? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

He really was that way kind of. But he was excited, I'm sure, to see you. I know, I know. Yeah, it's fun. And I just, you know, and I kind of looked at him and he looked at me and then we like just laughed. But it was a really funny thing for him to say. Yeah, he is a sweetheart. Was Fargo the one you get asked about the most only because it won Best Picture, right? No, it's The Big Lebowski. Oh, okay. And that was another. And it took a few years for that to happen.

because that was the one that followed Fargo. And I think critics like didn't know what to make of it at the time. And it kind of fell through the cracks, but then like five years later, I would start to get these like college kids come up to me and mention it because they watched it on VHS like over and over. And then in 10 years time, then it was, yeah. And then I, it got to be where I knew, um,

the Lebowski fans like somebody would come up to me on the street and they'd be about to say something and I'd say shut the fuck up Donnie and they'd like look at me like oh yeah oh wow yeah yeah yeah god I I'm telling you I hear about that like people I'm not in it but people go god have you seen the big Lebowski like one of my when they listing movies they like and comedies and it just really did resonate yeah hey I'm the dude man

Jeff Bridges is such a stud. Such a stud. Jeff Bridges, I always say that when he became a cowboy actor, he always sounded like he just had a hoagie. I'm going to do a take here in a minute, but I just had a big deep fry. I should sandwich him. Jeff now, if he listens to our podcast, once he did True Grit, and then he just...

His voice got gravellier. Well, he's just sort of, he went post-acting. I think some people, if you see "Hell or High Water," he's been so playful in that, it's almost like Anthony Hopkins and the one he got the Oscar for a couple years ago. So kind of like beyond acting, they're just playing. I don't know what to describe. He's like, "Let's get a giddy up on this car." I don't know, in "Hell or High Water," I went, "Oh, he jumped the shark. He's not acting anymore."

Do you know what I mean, Steve, in a way? Yes, he's just become whatever it is. Yeah. Rules are out the window. What's the most in the pocket you feel you've ever been? Like in a role, like, okay, this is the most I'm not thinking that I'm acting in a way or I'm just feeling so, so great in each take, if it ever happened. Well, no.

I mean, the first feature that I directed, Tree's Lounge, was a character that I wrote for myself that kind of was like an exaggerated version of me, but it was me. And so, but it was weird because I was also directing it and I always get very anxious when I direct. So it was hard to really...

enjoy it you know fully in the moment if somebody else was directing I think I maybe I would have felt like oh yeah I'm nailing this otherwise otherwise I'm just like I'm just thinking about the rest of the day and just wanting to get through a scene make sure I got it right but

Yeah, but my anxiety, I think, just gets in the way. Wait a minute, an actor with anxiety? I mean, you're telling me a brilliant actor has self-doubt and anxiety, except for Brando, maybe. I don't know, but everybody else was a little shaky. I don't know. Hard to place Brando. I'll bet he was insecure, Brando. Well, he got the earpiece at some point, so I think he was like, I'm sick of memorizing lines. It's too stressful.

Not giving a fuck is another way to do this. Now, I'm saying the word anxiety, I didn't know growing up. I would have said it every day. But I think now that you give people this word,

Like kids, they're like, I'm anxious at school. I'm like, well, no fuck. I've been anxious since the day I was born till right now. Like it's a very rough life out there. And they're like, I don't want to do my homework. It gives me anxiety. No shit. Like everything does. Oh, I had panic attacks before I do stand up, but I didn't know I was having a panic attack. Yeah, you don't know what it's called. You're just like, I was freaking out. I'd give it a name and then I'd have to go talk to a therapist for $2.25 an hour, maybe a talker down to $200. Well, that's enough personal information. Before tip. But-

Uh, yeah, everybody is anxious now and depressed. Steve, we can now, we know what we are. We know we're screwed up. We have vocabulary before I let you go, Steve, because you're a wonderful guy. I, and you're doing 12 other podcasts after this for the listener. You know, the good thing about Steve is he's not totally out there on everything. Like that's the interesting mystery of Buscemi. He's just kind of cool.

Lays back a little bit. Doesn't smother us. I think it's unintentional, but yeah, he's effortlessly cool. And the fact that you're... I mean, I'll just throw this out here because it's not common knowledge to everybody that you were a firefighter who dreamed of becoming an actor, who became an actor. 9-11 happens and then you apparently volunteer and you're going into the rubble with the firefighters, not to bring up such a dark subject, but that's an extraordinary...

uh thing for a human being to have done you know well thank you no yeah because i i was a firefighter for a few years in the early 80s and then you know as the years went by i got further and further away from it and lost touch but then 9-11 yeah it just put me back in touch and i felt really honored that they would even let me come back and work with them with my uh

my company, Engine 55. And I had access, but I know so many people who would have done the same thing that wanted to be there, but just couldn't get in there. And I had the opportunity and the access because I used to be on the job. And I felt very honored to...

You know, that I was that I was able to do that. It's hard for any of us to imagine that scene of what you went through. And you were invisible in a sense with the gear and everything. No one knew. Hey, that's the Fargo guy. You know, what's weird is that, you know, I still had my my turnout coat and my helmet and boots.

And so I went there thinking that I would, that I could blend in, but I had been off the job like since the mid eighties and all the, and all the equipment changed. You look like curious George or something. I kind of stood out anyway. And then people were like, kind of looking at me like, why, who is this guy? Why doesn't he have like, why is he a relic from the past? Oh, wait a minute. It's that guy. It's that actor. Yeah.

You know, Dana, he did that anonymously and he helped for weeks. In a related story, I brought cookies down and had tipped off TMZ to follow me. And then later, and I was in full makeup. Hey, man, you both are heroes. And I sent them a bill. You're different kinds of heroes. I want to ask Steve a question because I don't know if this is true either because I was a pipsqueak. David and I were pipsqueaks in high school. Like, I...

I graduated, I was probably 125. Me too. But I heard you wrestled at 105 on the varsity. Oh, really? But you got bigger than that, right? Were you that a freshman, 105? I know, I did that up until my senior year. Maybe I went up another way. 105? I don't think so. 105? Yeah, that's crazy. I know. Were you your height? Because I...

I was pretty wiry and I was pretty strong from my weight. I did pretty good during the year, you know, like in the team matches. But then in the tournaments, I always choked. When you started wrestling guys, was it harder?

He says the girls a little easier. And then they started putting me up against guys. I got to one 10. And then it was two girls versus Steve and he'd take them down three girls and it was getting hard. And then they had a 87 pound guy. No, but you were good. I mean, you were actually, you would seem like the kind of guy who would be good at wrestling. I don't know why I think that.

But yeah, your intellect and kind of, I think wiry people are secretly strong. I was okay. I did, you know, I had a great coach, Mr. Earl, and his son, Rich Hero, was my wrestling partner. And like, he was like the best on the team. So it kind of rubbed off on me. I had one secret move called the reverse crayon.

And if I got you in it, if I got you in the reverse cradle, it was like a surprise. And I actually beat some guys who were probably better than me.

But then, you know, that's why I would choke in the tournaments because then you wrestle these same people again. Oh, they're on to the old. And they know you're a one trick. It always seemed a little close quarter in a way. Did you ever wrestling a guy and all of a sudden your face was right up against his junk? You're going, why am I doing this? It's very homoerotic wrestling. It is. Okay. You know, it's part of the appeal. It's part of the appeal. Yeah.

It does get a diverse audience. Yes. Yes, that's good. All right, Dana, what do we do with Steve? We let him go? Well, we could do hours because he doesn't need our help. But yeah, he's Steve Buscemi. He's a national treasure. I'm going to use that because you've just been around so long. And if I see you in a movie, I'm just happy. You're like this guy.

it's this guy and i think when you are in your lane um i i don't know who your peers are i don't know if it's christopher walken these are older people but um it's there's the cool factor you're not in you're not a pretty boy in front of a movie doing all the press you're just the guy who goes in and you can't take your eyes off that guy you know i mean it's like you weren't

In Fargo, it was like it didn't feel like you were acting. You weren't an actor. They're like they got a real guy to do this. Where'd they get this? I had that once with Rip Torn. I saw a movie. Where'd they get this guy off the street? He was so good in this movie. And I think you have that vibe about you. Thank you. So I'm not a pretty boy. That's what you're saying.

Well, I'm saying you're ruggedly handsome. Thank you. Thank you. I agree. Do you think David's a pretty boy? Yes, absolutely. Thank you. I've gotten away with every time I date someone, it's Beauty and the Beast in every article. I'm like, enough for this. Like, just why not just say I'm okay? You don't look like a beast. They say, they go, yuck. That's like exclamation is the headline. I'm like, all right.

You can't do that. You can't do that with the girls. You can't say, look at this great young guy with his dog. It's like, you can't. You can do it with me. All right, Steve, that's really what I wanted to get off my chest. Okay. Thank you for talking to us. You're a stud and we'll talk soon, hopefully. Thank you both. I love you both. And thank you so much. We love you. Hope we see you. Thank you. Okay, see you, Bob.

This has been a presentation of Odyssey. Please follow, subscribe, leave a like, a review, all this stuff, smash that button, whatever it is, wherever you get your podcasts. Fly on the Wall is executive produced by Dana Carvey and David Spade, Jenna Weiss-Berman of Odyssey, Charlie Finan of Brillstein Entertainment, and Heather Santoro. The show's lead producer is Greg Holtzman.