It was given to him by Tim Burton

In season two of Wednesday on Netflix, Steve Buscemi has joined the cast. He plays the new headmaster of Nevermore, Barry Dort.

Dort replaced the late Larissa Weems, who was stabbed and poisoned at the end of season one. The new headteacher brings a very different energy to the school, and it’s clear there’s a lot more to come from the character. “When you first meet him, you feel like you’re coming into a new world,” co-showrunner Miles Millar told The Hollywood Reporter.

It turns out Steve Buscemi was gifted a very special item by none other than Wednesday creator and director, Tim Burton. It was the basis of his entire character. Here’s what it was and how it inspired his character.

Steve Buscemi shares the item that inspired his character in Wednesday on Netflix

Speaking to PEOPLE, Steven Buscemi revealed Tim Burton gave him a special item “from his own collection” ahead of the show. He and Burton had a “mutual” idea to base headmaster Barry Dort on Edgar Allan Poe – the 19th-century poet whose poem The Raven includes the word “nevermore” several times, and who is immortalised as a statue on the grounds of Nevermore Academy in the show.

“He also gave me an Edgar Allan Poe action figure, and I think it was from his own collection because it wasn’t brand new,” Buscemi explained. “It was like, ‘Oh my god, he gave me one of his possessions.’”

Talking of joining the cast of Netflix show, Buscemi added: “It was exciting – a little bit intimidating, but mostly exciting.” He explained that after he and Tim Burton decided Edgar Allen Poe would be the inspiration behind Barry Dort, he was able to settle into the role. He said: “Once we got the wig and the moustache, that was a great relief because it’s like, ‘Okay, I know who this guy is now.’”