Steve Buscemi on his role in the new satirical comedy 'The Death of Stalin'

Is there any role that Steve Buscemi can’t play? From "Con Air" to "Boardwalk Empire" to "Hotel Transylvania," the Brooklyn-born actor has brought to life plenty of iconic characters on both the big and small screens.

Now, fans can catch him in his latest role as Nikita Khrushchev in the political satire film “The Death of Stalin.” He talked about the unusual casting on Feb. 28 while speaking with Peter Travers on “Popcorn with Peter Travers."

“When I read the script for the first time, I was like, Khrushchev? I thought it was a mistake like that’s not who they want me for,” said Buscemi. “And I read the script and it was a very thick script. It was like an epic. It was funny. But there was a lot in there. I was just intimidated by the whole thing.”

But after a conversation with the film’s director, Armando Iannucci, Buscemi made the decision to take on the role.

“I think it’s good sometimes when you have fear of doing something because those are probably the things you should be doing, taking on roles that are challenging,” Buscemi said.

In the film, the Soviet dictator lives out his final days and upon his death chaos erupts.

“It’s obviously a comedy. It’s a very dark comedy. It’s not a comedy throughout. It does go to some dark places,” Buscemi, 60, told Travers.

“It’s from a graphic novel. So it has this comic book, graphic novel feel to it. It lets people in in a way that sometimes if the subject matter seems overly serious people can maybe not want to go there.”

Download the all new "Popcorn With Peter Travers" podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Tunein, Google Play Music and Stitcher.

“The Death of Stallin” is in theaters everywhere.

Be sure to watch the full interview with Travers and Buscemi in the video above.