1. Steve Buscemi Helps 9/11 Rescue
Steve Buscemi was a fire-fighter with Engine 55 in Little Italy, New York, before he became the rare beast that is both Hollywood Star and Indie Icon - acclaimed and appreciated by fans and critics alike. Buscemi resigned from the New York Fire Department in 1985 when his screen career started to flourish but he was back on duty 16 years later under the most horrific of circumstances, the aftermath of 9/11. The morning after the Twin Towers were destroyed Buscemi went to Ground Zero, where he searched for crew from Engine 55. When he found them he helped dig through the rubble to search for survivors and recover bodies. Buscemi kept going back to work with the company, which had lost a fire-fighter in the attacks, for the next few days and only stopped when machines were called in to clear the site. It took several years for details of his return to duty to become known in wider circles. Just 18 months after 9/11 Buscemi was one of 12 people arrested during a protest against the closures of six New York fire companies, among them was Engine 55.