A rep for Steve Buscemi confirmed the actor was randomly assaulted while walking through New York City on Wednesday, May 8.
The Boardwalk Empire actor, 66, was walking in midtown Manhattan when he “became another victim of a random act of violence in the city,” according to a publicist who spoke to People on Sunday, May 12.
The publicist added that Buscemi is now “OK” and “appreciates everyone’s well wishes” while remaining “incredibly sad for everyone that this has happened to while also walking the streets of New York.”
The outlet reported Buscemi, who was recently announced as a cast member in season 2 of Netflix’s Wednesday, was punched in the face.
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A police spokesperson told the New York Post that the actor had been walking through the Kips Bay neighborhood at 11:58 a.m. when he was struck.
Buscemi “suffered swelling to his face and left eye” and was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Kips Bay for treatment.
The assailant reportedly “took off” from the scene after the incident.
A witness who caught part of the incident told the New York Post she saw Buscemi “with a woman, and then through the corner of the window I saw him trip and fall backwards.”
The witness further detailed that Buscemi “right away got up and ran in the opposite direction.”
Police told the outlet the bearded attacker was last seen wearing a baseball cap, a blue T-shirt and black sweatpants.
The disturbing incident comes after another Boardwalk Empire actor was caught in a random attack of violence on the streets of New York City less than two months ago.
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Michael Stuhlbarg, who portrayed gangster Arnold Rothstein on the hit HBO series, suffered an abrasion after being assaulted by a homeless man near Central Park on March 31.
According to police reports released on April 1, the actor, 55, was walking near East 90th and East Drive around 7:45 p.m. when he was struck in the back of the neck with a rock by Xavier Israel, 27.
Buscemi, who was a New York City firefighter and famously returned to active duty in the wake of 9/11 to search for survivors, was critically acclaimed for his work on Boardwalk Empire as the corrupt politician Enoch “Nucky” Thompson. He received a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Television Series — Drama in 2011 and Emmy nominations for Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2011 and 2012. The show ran for five seasons, ending in October 2014.
Since then, Buscemi won an Emmy in 2016 for his work as a host, director and producer on the web series Park Bench with Steve Buscemi and went on to star in the comedy Miracle Workers.
