Actor Steve Buscemi reveals he suffered PTSD after volunteering post 9/11 attacks

Actor Steve Buscemi has opened about the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) he suffered after working as a volunteer firefighter during the9/11 terrorist attacks.

The actor has experience working as a firefighter in the 1980s and volunteered for search and recovery efforts during the terrorist attacks in 2001. The actor appeared on Marc Maron's 'WTF' podcast recently and revealed how his mental health was affected while working.

"I kept calling the fire house the day before and of course there was no answer. Because I knew that they would be there," Buscemi told Maron. "And then I eventually learned that five of them were missing. One of them was a good friend of mine I used to work with."

"I was driven to the site that day, walked around for hours and then found my company, found Engine 55 working there," he continued. "I asked if I could join them. I could tell they were a little suspicious at first, but I worked with them that day."

Buscemi eventually volunteered for several more days.

The actor said he did not have any long- term health issues from his time volunteering but the actor does suffer from PTSD.

"I haven’t experienced any health issues, and I get myself checked out, but definitely…. Post traumatic stress? Absolutely," Buscemi said during the podcast.

"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 added. "I was depressed, I was anxious, I couldn’t make a simple decision. All those things. It’s still with me. 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.’"

The attack will complete 20 years on Saturday and the actor states that it could be a "trigger" for those who survived 9/11.