Of all the actors who’ve collaborated with theCoen Brothersmultiple times, the only actor who’s been inmore of their films thanSteve BuscemiisFrances McDormand. As far as appearances go, Buscemi is tied withJohn Goodman, who’s admittedly been in six features, while Buscemi has been in five features and one short film. Besides that short film, all of Buscemi’s Coen Brother collaborations were released in the 1990s, with roles both minor and supporting in nature.
It almost seems like the size of Steve Buscemi’s role in each Coen Brothers movie he’s appeared in correlates to the overall quality of that movie, which makes it possible to argue that the more Buscemi, the better.Few will complain about him lending his unique presence and distinctive anxious energy to the sorts of dark comedies and crime/thriller movies the Coens excel at making, with all six of those films he’s in ranked below, starting with the decent and ending with the great.
6’Paris Je T’aime' (2006)
Plays The Tourist
With a title that translates to “Paris, I Love You,”Paris Je T’aimeis an anthology film that does indeed deal with stories that depict and/or celebrate life in Paris, often with themes concerning love, longing, or connection highlighted. As can be said about most anthology movies, inconsistency does hurtParis Je T’aimeand prevent it from being overall great… but at least the Coen Brothers’ segment – which stars Steve Buscemiand is called “Tuileries” – is pretty good.
It essentially follows Buscemi playing a tourist who commits the social sin of making eye contact with people while waiting for a train at Tuileries station. It’s one of the funniest short films in the overall anthology, andBuscemi is perfectly cast as a hapless man who’s a complete fish out of water, and plagued with the same sense of bad luck that impacted the central character in the Coens’A Serious Man. The other shorts technically makeParis Je T’aimeweaker than most Coen Brothers movies by weighing the whole thing down, but their specific short is quite good (as is Buscemi’s performance within it).
Watch on Peacock
5’The Hudsucker Proxy' (1994)
Plays The Beatnik Barman
Like with their contribution toParis Je T’aime, the Coen Brothers did not give Steve Buscemi’s character inThe Hudsucker Proxya name, with him only being known as the Beatnik Barman. This is in line with another movie from 1994,Pulp Fiction, which sawQuentin Tarantinocast Steve Buscemi again, followingReservoir Dogs, but not as a named or prominent character; merely appearing briefly as a waiter made up tolook like just likeBuddy Holly(ooh-wee-ooh).
He’s far from the only surprising name to show up in a small role here, with other minor/cameo appearances coming from the likes ofBruce Campbell,Sam Raimi, and John Goodman. As for the film itself?The Hudsucker Proxyisnot a great Coen Brothers comedy, but it has its moments and an admirable style, not to mentiona fierce commitment to capturing the sort of breezy charm found in screwball comedies made some 50 or more years earlier.
The Hudsucker Proxy
4’Barton Fink' (1991)
Plays Chet
WithBarton Fink, the Coen Brothers let John Goodman runabsolutely wild, and his super intense performancehere does ultimately steal the movie. John Turturro is also good, in a less in-your-face role, playing the film’s protagonist: a man who moves to Los Angeles wanting to become a screenwriter, but faces some unexpected hardships and obstacles. Whatinitially seems fickle and annoying soon becomes nightmarish, withBarton Finkmaking a strong – and sometimes darkly funny – observation that the film industry is a kind of hell, in effect.
Steve Buscemi gets a little more to do here compared to those aforementioned Coen Brothers flicks, and his character even gets a name this time! His character is Chet, andhe’s an oddball bellhop who works at the bizarre hotel Turturro’sBarton Finkstays at when he first arrives in Los Angeles. You get just enough Buscemi here for the film to work; he might not steal the movie, nor distract from what it’s really going for, but he’s afun addition to a strong castthat, beyond Turturro and Goodman, also includes the likes ofJudy Davis,John Mahoney, andJon Polito.
Barton Fink
3’Miller’s Crossing' (1990)
Plays Mink
It’s easy to callMiller’s Crossingone of the most underrated gangster movies of the 1990s, and not too much harder to call it one of the flat-outbest gangster films released that decade. It does as many things narratively as somemovies take three or more hours to do, but it instead clocks in at a fairly lean 115 minutes, with a story about gang warfare that accurately recreates a time in history, features some impressive action and tense set pieces, and finds time to even deal with some romantic drama alongside all the crime stuff.
It was an early Coen Brothers movie overall, following on from their 80s movies likeBlood SimpleandRaising Arizona, withMiller’s Crossingalso standing out because it was the first time Steve Buscemi popped up in one of the brothers’ movies. He plays a supporting role without a ton of screen time, buthis character, Mink, is nonetheless an important one overall, and a surprisingly tragic one, too.
Miller’s Crossing
2’The Big Lebowski' (1998)
Plays Donny
Not just a top-tier Coen Brothers movie,The Big Lebowskiis arguably up there among theall-time greatest movies directed by a sibling duo. It’s a wild, intentionally confusing, and gleefully chaotic/profane comedy, and one where there is technically a mystery story being told, but the lack of coherence and sense makes it all funnier. If you want a traditional neo-noir narrative, you might be let down, but if you’re willing to go along for the ride the film wishes to take you on, thenThe Big Lebowskisoars.
That intention might not be clear straight away, meaning this is a movie that benefits from rewatches, and that could well explain whyit became a 1990s classic more and moreas the years progressed from its original release.Jeff Bridges and John Goodman get the showier performances here, sure, but Steve Buscemi is quietly hilarious as the downtrodden and good-natured Donny. His status as a punching bag is a good source of comedy until the tide turns inThe Big Lebowski’s final act, and the long-suffering sidekick to the film’s leads gets some pathos attached to his character and role in the overall movie.
The Big Lebowski
1’Fargo' (1996)
Plays Carl Showalter
In contrast toThe Big Lebowski,Fargois a crime movie where everything plays out in a logical – and perhaps even inevitable – order. Both Coen Brothers movies havenumerous characters who aren’t particularly clever, but there’s an extra sense of obviousness toFargo, with a kidnapping scheme going wrong, and a single police detective swooping in to solve the case, thanks to the fact that she’s far from an idiot. Somehow, it’s stillriveting and even suspenseful, at times, to watch, while it also manages to contain a good deal of dark comedy(albeit not quite as many laugh-out-loud moments as can be found inThe Big Lebowski).
Again, the more Steve Buscemi, the (debatable) better, becausehis villainous role hereis the most sizable part he’s ever played in a Coen Brothers movie, andFargocould well be called the best Coen Brothers movie (it’s this orNo Country for Old Men, perhaps, which admittedly doesn’t have any Buscemi). Every part ofFargois just immensely well-executed, and it all fits together in such a satisfying, dramatic, and impactful way, suggesting everyone behind and in front of the camera were at the top of their respective games for this one.
