On September 12, 2001, the day after the towers fell, a man in worn firefighter gear shows up at Ground Zero and starts walking.
Smoke still filled the air. Dust covered everything.
He walked throug... View MoreOn September 12, 2001, the day after the towers fell, a man in worn firefighter gear shows up at Ground Zero and starts walking.
Smoke still filled the air. Dust covered everything.
He walked through the ruins for hours, passing exhausted rescue crews, searching for one place.
His old firehouse.
The man was Steve Buscemi.
Most people knew him as the unforgettable character actor who played crooks, gangsters, and unsettling outsiders.
Long before Hollywood, he wore a different uniform.
At just eighteen, he took the New York City firefighter exam. In 1980, he joined FDNY Engine Company 55 in Manhattan's Little Italy, spending four years running into burning buildings before leaving to pursue acting.
He never forgot where he came from.
When the Twin Towers were attacked, Buscemi tried calling his old firehouse.
Nobody answered.
He knew exactly why.
Soon came the devastating news. Five firefighters from Engine 55 were missing, including a close friend he had once served beside.
He didn't stay home.
He found his old gear, made his way to Ground Zero, and searched until he found his former company.
At first, they looked at him with surprise.
Then they recognised one of their own.
For five days, Buscemi worked twelve-hour shifts beside them, digging through twisted steel and shattered concrete, searching for survivors and helping recover those who never came home.
It was exhausting.
Heartbreaking.
Necessary.
He refused interviews. He avoided cameras and kept his face covered, wanting the mask to hide more than the dust.
He wasn't there for headlines.
He was there for his brothers.
The public learned what he had done only because a photographer captured a single image, and fellow firefighters later told the story he never intended to share.
The experience stayed with him.
Buscemi has spoken about the post-traumatic stress that followed, admitting the hardest part came after he returned home.
He never called what he did heroic.
"It was a privilege to be able to do it."
On screen, Steve Buscemi often plays the man nobody trusts.
When his city needed him most, he became the man his brothers could.
Ancient Snow Gums Trees, Kosciuszko National Park. NSW, Australia.
Eucalyptus pauciflora are alpine trees that grow in the mountains of the southeastern Australian mainland., dominating subalpine w... View MoreAncient Snow Gums Trees, Kosciuszko National Park. NSW, Australia.
Eucalyptus pauciflora are alpine trees that grow in the mountains of the southeastern Australian mainland., dominating subalpine woodlands at the altitudinal limit to tree growth.
Photo: Scott Leggo
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