He was born in Brooklyn New York. His mother Dorothy worked as a hostess at Howard Johnson's and his father John Buscemi worked as a sanitation worker. His father was also a Korean War Veteran. His father was Sicilian American and his mother was Irish American. Steven and his three bothers Jon, Ken, and Michael were raised Roman Catholic.Steve graduated from Valley Stream Central High School in 1975. Patricia Charbonneau and writer Edward Renehan also attended the same High School. In high school, Steve wrestled for the varsity squad and participated in the drama troupe, at that time directed by Mr. Lynne C. Lappin. Buscemi's 1996 film Trees Lounge, in which he not only starred but served as screenwriter and director, is set in and was largely shot in his childhood village of Valley Stream.
He went to college for a short time at Nassau before moving to Manhattan and enrolled in the Lee Strasberg Institute. Then in the early 80's from 1980 to 1984 he became a firefighter for the FDNY Engine 55! This I never knew. Can you imagine Steve Buscemi as a firefighter? Amazing to me...
My favorite films and cartoons he was in include Resivoir Dogs(as Mr. Pink),Rising Sun(he's in there briefly),Airheads,Pulp Fiction,Billy Madison,Thing To Do In Denver When Your Dead,Desperado,Fargo,Con Air,The Big Lebowski,The Wedding Singer,Armageddon,Big Daddy,28 Days,Monsters Inc(voice of Randall Boggs),Mr. Deeds,Coffee And Cigarettes,Big Fish and he is the voice in The Simpsons as Dwight in the episode "Idon't wanna know why the cage bird sings".
On March 4, 2005, Buscemi returned to his old high school where he was presented the Distinguished Alumni Award as part of the school's 75th anniversary celebration.In April 2001, while shooting the film Domestic Disturbance in Wilmington, North Carolina, Buscemi was stabbed three times while intervening in a bar fight at Firebelly Lounge between his friend Vince Vaughn, screenwriter Scott Rosenberg and a local man, who allegedly instigated the brawl .
