Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi (pronounced /bʊˈʃɛmi/, boo-SHEM-ee; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor, writer and film director.

Steve Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Dorothy, who worked as a hostess at Howard Johnson's, and John Buscemi, a sanitation worker and Korean War veteran. Buscemi's father was Sicilian American and his mother Irish American. He has three brothers: Jon, Ken, and Michael. Buscemi was raised Catholic.

He graduated in 1975 from Valley Stream Central High School in Valley Stream, New York, a school which he attended with actress Patricia Charbonneau and writer Edward Renehan. In high school, Buscemi wrestled for the varsity squad and participated in the drama troupe, at that time directed by Mr. Lynne C. Lappin. He was also a member of Alpha Omega Theta fraternity. 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.