Watch: Steve Buscemi recalls failed 'Tin Men' audition on 'Late Show'

UPI

3 days ago

1 of 4 | Steve Buscemi recalled some of his failed auditions on Wednesday night's episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
July 24 (UPI) -- Actor Steve Buscemi appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and discussed some of the roles he failed to land, including a part in Barry Levinson's 1987 comedy Tin Men.
Buscemi, who is currently starring in Netflix's Wednesday, told Colbert he decided to really prepare for his audition with Levinson.
"I studied the sides, the script, and I went in there, did my reading, my audition, and he went, 'That was really good, that's really good, Steve. Alright, 'Let's try it again,'" the actor recalled. "He gave me a very specific note, and I don't remember what that was, but he wanted me to add a different color to it, or shading. I went, 'OK,' and then I read it again, the exact same way I just did it."
"There was this silence, and we both just looked at each other, and I think I even said, 'That was the same, wasn't it?' He said, 'It's OK, it's OK.' Needless to say, I did not get that part," Buscemi said.
Buscemi recalled another time he auditioned for director Mike Nichols and casting director Juliet Taylor for the film Biloxi Blues, despite knowing he had a scheduling conflict.
"I went in, I do the audition, and they love it," he said. "They were laughing, they were like, 'That's great! Yeah, good.' And I went, 'So, when are you shooting this?'"
Buscemi said he told them he was not available on the shooting dates.
"And again, this, like, silence. And I could see Juliet Taylor looking at me like, 'What is wrong with you?'"
While he did not land Tin Man or Biloxi Blues, Buscemi is known for such films as Reservoir Dogs, Fargo and The Big Lebowski, along with the HBO series Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos.