I’ll never forget the first time I set eyes on Steve Buscemi. I went to see Rising Sun with my family, and there’s a scene where a scrawny reporter — who specializes in print hit jobs — pesters Sean Connery. I found the very sight of him irritating and one of the impressions I had after the movie was how good a job they did casting that weaselly reporter. Maybe a few months later, I watched Reservoir Dogs on VHS. I didn’t find him so irritating this time. In fact, his character, Mr. Pink, was my favorite of the pack.

After that, it was pretty hard to miss Steve Buscemi. The man was everywhere: Adam Sandler movies; cameos in Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Jim Jarmusch, Jerry Bruckheimer features; and, of course, the films of the Coen brothers. Remember that period where it just seemed like every movie out there had to star Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Buscemi, or J.T. Walsh?

On top of it all, Buscemi directed a number of great episodes of The Sopranos, not to mention one of the most controversial and most highly regarded fan favorites, “Pines Barrens.” It’s a stunning portrait of The Sopranos contradiction: a wonderfully written ongoing saga with intriguing storylines and detours that curiously never go anywhere. What the hell happened to the Russian, anyway? No, really, how did that never come back to Tony? And we never looked at Paulie the same way again, did we?

Anyway, I think all that hard work and dedication is worth a healthy look back at one of our most prolific actors. I decided to keep it all sunshine and daisies here and not even include a worst list. Buscemi has been in far too many movies; when you make as many movies as he does, it’s hardly fair to call him out on the clunkers. Buscemi worked so hard for a while there, appearing in so many movies it nearly killed him (he was stabbed in the neck in a 2001 bar brawl). That same year Buscemi, a former firefighter, anonymously put on some gear and helped out his brethren in the darkest hours of 9/11. So I think we can forgive him for the occasional “Crazy Eyes” role.

The Good

1. Fargo

Far and away my favorite Buscemi performance. Whether he’s berating a clip-on-tied parking lot attendant or expressing his disdain for pancakes (his interactions with Peter Stormare are classic), Buscemi kills in hilarious fashion. The Coen brothers have used Buscemi to great effect many, many times. They know how to tap his talent, probably better than anyone else. Sometimes it pays to be funny-looking.

2. Reservoir Dogs

As noted above, Buscemi’s work as Mr. Pink made me an immediate fan. He’s had some very good roles since Tarantino’s debut, but few this intense. He also made a case for not tipping waiters. I wonder what this guy would have made of that.

3. Ghost World

Steve Buscemi … romantic lead! Sort of. This cult favorite showed us a gentler, more tender side of Buscemi. It even got a bit of a nod on Laremy’s Underrated Films of the Decade list. It didn’t make his official cut because technically it was nominated for an Oscar. He’s such a stickler, that one.

4. Trees Lounge

Buscemi wrote and directed this solid little drama about a man who drives an ice cream truck. Why does he drive an ice cream truck? To make ends meet, yes, but mostly to take care of his bar tab. He spends the bulk of his time in Trees Lounge drinking away his sorrows, trying to put the pieces of his life together before he turns into some sad drunk staring into nowhere with a semicold one in his grasp. The last shot is a brilliant recall of the film’s first.

5. The Buscemi Cameos!

Part of what makes Buscemi such a fan favorite is how he will sometimes pop in and out of a movie to the delight of cinema geeks. His very appearance in a movie is at times a joke in and of itself. Buscemi doesn’t get nearly enough meaty roles, but maybe it’s because he’s so damn good in small ones. Whether it’s the lipstick-wearing Danny McGrath who decides not to kill Billy Madison; creepy, serial-killing Garland Greene (in the otherwise despised Con Air); the fast-talking Mink or Chet in Miller’s Crossing and Barton Fink; the almost never-talking, rock-throwing Donny in The Big Lebowski; the melon-eating homeless guy in Big Daddy; or Willy “The Weasel” Wilhelm in Rising Sun, Buscemi shows up and delivers. I heard him described as the Peter Lorre of our generation. That guy was funny-looking and funny-talking, too. But could he play “Crazy Eyes”? Nosir.

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Dre writes for Film.com weekly.

Tags: fargo, ghost world, steve buscemi