10 Actors You Didn’t Know Directed Your Favorite TV Shows
by Brad Tilles
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 05: Actor Steve Buscemi attends HBO’s ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Season Three New York Premiere at Ziegfeld Theater on September 5, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images)
10. Steve Buscemi
The Actor: The go-to guy for playing criminals, weasels and social outcasts, the veteran character actor is best known for such film roles in Fargo, Reservoir Dogs and Armageddon. He always left a lasting mark with his distinct facial features and playing characters with quick tempers. In addition he’s had small roles in Adam Sandler comedies like Big Daddy and Grown Ups. On TV he starred as Nucky Thompson in the prohibition-era HBO drama Boardwalk Empire and had recurring roles on Portlandia and 30 Rock.
The TV Director: For over 15 years Buscemi has occasionally found time to direct TV episodes as well. Beginning in 1998 directing an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, Buscemi has gone on to direct both comedies and dramas. Some of his best known work was in the seminal HBO mafia drama The Sopranos, which he also appeared throughout the show’s fifth season as Tony Blundetto.
Buscemi’s first directing job on the show was perhaps one of the best episodes of the series, Pine Barrens. He would also direct multiple episodes of Nurse Jackie on Showtime, 30 Rock on NBC, and most recently Love on Netflix.
