Steve Buscemi is looking back after twenty years on September 11.
The 63-year-old actor, who is currently starring in Miracle Workers: The Oregon Trail, was featured on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, and volunteered that day to step up and search for missing people following the attacks in New York.
Steve was a firefighter before becoming an actor and went looking for his old company, Engine 55, to help out in any way he could.
“I asked if I could join them. I could tell they were a little suspicious at first, but I worked with them that day,” he said, and while searching, realized one of his good friends was amongst the unaccounted for.
”I kept calling the firehouse, and of course there was no answer. Because I knew that they would be there [at Ground Zero],” Steve shared. “Then I eventually learned that five of [the members of his firehouse] were missing. One of them was a good friend of mine I used to work with.”
Years later, Steve says that he hasn’t “experienced any physical health issues” as a result, but does experience other issues, like PTSD.
“I was only there for like five days, but when I stopped going and tried to just live my life again, it was really, really hard,” he shared. “I was depressed. I was anxious. I couldn’t make a simple decision. All those things.”
“It’s still with me,” he added. “There are times when I talk about 9/11 and I’m right back there. I start to get choked up and I realize, ‘Ah, this is still a big part of me.’”