Steve Buscemi is an American treasure. Hell, he’s probably just one notch below Tiffany Haddish in the America’s Sweetheart power rankings at the moment. Buscemi had a busy 2017 on film, but outside of The Boss Baby none of the other films he appeared in were considered Oscarworthy. (Take a moment to have an extended think about if The Death of Stalin will earn as many Academy Awards nods next year as The Boss Baby.) The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has sorted out a way to give Buscemiheads a nice splash of Buscemi meets Oscar fusion ahead of Sunday’s ceremony and bless their hearts for doing so.
In this delightfully silly Colbert cold open, the Boardwalk Empire star was kind enough to share clips of himself auditioning for films nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards. Sure, The Shape of Water and Call Me By Your Name are great, but what if there was a dash of Steve Buscemi in the mix?
“Son, I want you to know it’s okay to be gay,” says Buscemi in his Call Me By Your Name audition. “Also congrats on banging Armie Hammer your first time out of the gate. That guy is primo man-meat.”
Damn straight he is primo man-meat. Clocking in at two minutes, this Buscemi Late Show segment is a zippy, easy watch if a bit confusing for folks relying on Buscemi’s performances to let them fake their way through knowing what’s going on at their Oscar party. Speaking of which, be sure to stick with UPROXX this Sunday for all the Oscar coverage your movie-loving heart can handle.
