Prior to starring in HBO's Boardwalk Empire, actor Steve Buscemi had made quite a name for himself playing memorable secondary characters in a variety of well-known films, from Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs to Fargo, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

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This year, the prohibition drama that turned Buscemi into a leading man comes to an end. With interest mounting for the series' final season, the actor has begun to open up more and more about his life outside of playing Nucky Thompson on HBO.

Recently on the Running Late Show, Buscemi sat down with Scott Rogowsky to discuss his diverse career. First, however, the two began with the basics. "It's an honor to have you here," declared Rogowsky, "And you'll notice...that I introduced you as BOO=SEMI...in my extensive research I learned that's how you pronounce your own last name, even though everyone else in the entire world pronounces it BOO-SHEMMY."

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The announced laughed as the actor accepted these facts. "I don't correct people..." he tried to explain, "because it's not wrong." Buscemi noted, however, that he pronounces it BOO-SEMI because that was how he was raised to pronounce it growing up, even though his ancestors in Italy pronounced it with the h.

Buscemi went on to discuss his early life and career. The 56-year-old actor was born in East New York and moved to Long Island at the age of eight before settling in. Brooklyn. While known locally as a firefighter and broadly as an actor, the New York native started out in stand-up comedy.

He explained that he managed to get into The Improv in New York and got to watch some of the greats perform. "None of them remember me," he laughed, "None of them ever knew I was there." Eventually he decided that he would never be as good at stand-up as his idols were, and so he broadened his reach and found acting, in which he's found much success.

Over the last few decades, Buscemi has moved seamlessly from bit parts to leading roles both on and off the camera, directing Interview in 2007 and starting his own talk show series Park Bench in 2014. Even with his broad resume, it's likely audiences won't soon forget his five-year run as the conflicted gangster Nucky Thompson. If his track record with previous characters are any indication, Thompson might not make it out of the HBO drama alive.

Boardwalk Empire returns to HBO for its fifth and final season Sunday, September 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

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