Steve Buscemi says we’ve been pronouncing his name wrong for years

You might have been mispronouncing Steve Buscemi‘s name all this time. In any case, so has he.

The versatile actor stopped by The Tonight Show this week to chat about his turn on Netflix’s hit series Wednesday, but first gushed over his “fun” cameo on Seth Rogen‘s acclaimed Apple TV+ comedy The Studio, which featured a scene in which the cast debated over the pronunciation of his surname.

“At one point they said ‘Bruscemi,’ like ‘bruschetta,'” host Jimmy Fallon said.

“I don’t like that one,” Buscemi said with a laugh. “You know, Buscemi, I like that,” the actor added, enunciating as “Boo-shemi.”

Fallon clarified, “But it’s not, right?”

“Well, that is the Italian way to say it,” Buscemi confirmed. “But I just didn’t grow up that way. Growing up, we said ‘Bue-semi,’ which is like, I can’t even do that anymore. So now I say ‘Boo-semi.'”

Buscemi said he takes “a little bit from each pronunciation” before quipping, “I don’t know how to say my own name.”

During his early days as a stand-up comedian, however, Buscemi simply went by “Buce.” “You can imagine the fun the emcees had with that,” he told Fallon.

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It’s been a revelatory week for celebrity names, as Denzel Washington, too, clarified just this week that we’ve been mispronouncing his name. During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Academy Award winner told the late-night host that his first name is pronounced “Den-zull,” as opposed to “Den-zell.”

Washington said the most commonly known pronunciation was first coined by his mother, to help distinguish between the actor and his father, Denzel Washington, Sr. “I’m Denzel Jr. My mother would say, ‘Denzel,’ and we’d both show up,” Washington shared. Thus, his mother informed him, ‘From now on, you’re Den-zell.'”

Elsewhere in Buscemi’s late-night interview, the actor spoke about feeling “intimidated” to join Wednesday as Nevermore Academy’s villainous new principal Barry Dort, despite having worked with Tim Burton and star Jenna Ortega before.

“Before I knew I was going to be in the second season, I loved the first season,” Buscemi said. “Everyone was great … but still, you come into something that’s so well established and that people love, it is a little intimidating.”

Watch the rest of Buscemi’s interview above.