Man suspected of punching Boardwalk Empire star Steve Buscemi in random NYC attack

The New York Police Department has identified the man they suspect of punching Hollywood actor Steve Buscemi while he was out walking in New York City this past Wednesday.

Police are hunting Clifton Williams, 50, who they believe punched Buscemi in the face, leaving him bloodied and bruised. 

The Brooklyn native, 66, was strolling along Third Avenue near East 27th Street in Kips Bay, in eastern Manhattan, at 11.48am on Wednesday, police said.

Williams allegedly walked up to the actor and suddenly attacked him outside 369 Third Avenue, then fled. Witnesses said Buscemi actually chased after the man who brutalized him.

Williams is still being sought by the NYPD, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday night. 

Hollywood actor Steve Buscemi was punched in the face in a random attack on the streets of New York City

Buscemi, 66, was strolling along Third Avenue in Kips Bay, eastern Manhattan, when he was violently assaulted 

Police released a surveillance image of the alleged attacker this week, and have now identified the man as Clifton Williams, 50

Footage has emerged of actor Steve Buscemi moments before he was punched in the face in a random attack on the streets of New York City

Buscemi was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he was treated for bruising, swelling, and bleeding to his left eye.

'Steve Buscemi was assaulted in Mid-Town Manhattan, another victim of a random act of violence in the city,' his publicist said. 

'He is OK and appreciates everyone's well wishes, though incredibly sad for everyone that this has happened to while also walking the streets of NY.'

A worker who was nearby when the assault happened told the New York Post:  'I saw he was with a woman, and then through the corner of the window I saw him trip and fall backwards. 

'He right away got up and ran in the opposite direction,' they added. 'I didn't see who hit him.'

Police released a surveillance image Monday of the alleged attacker, who was wearing a dark baseball hat, blue T-shirt, black pants, and white sneakers.

Buscemi grew up in NYC and was a firefighter in Brooklyn before he quit in the 1980s to pursue an acting career. 

He returned to his old firehouse hours after the September 11 attacks and stayed at the World Trade Center site for days, sifting through rubble.

 Buscemi, 66, was strolling along Third Avenue in Kips Bay, eastern Manhattan

The award-winning actor has a career spanning four decades and is best known for his roles in HBO series Boardwalk Empire and films like 'Fargo' and 'Reservoir Dogs.'

While working on the film Domestic Disturbance in Wilmington, NC, in 2001, Buscemi was the victim of another brutal assault.

The actor intervened in a bar brawl after two local men reportedly picked a fight with his co-star Vince Vaughn and screenwriter Scott Rosenberg.

Buscemi was stabbed multiple times, above the eye and in the jaw, throat, and arm, according to police. He was treated at a local emergency room and released.

'The situation could have been life-threatening,' a source told Entertainment Weekly, which reported that the star had returned home to New York to recuperate and have plastic surgery on his wounds.

The assault on Buscemi on May 8 comes after his Boardwalk Empire co-star Michael Stuhbarg was also attacked at random while out in New York earlier this year.

Stuhlbarg, 55, was approached seemingly at random by a homeless man in the Upper East Side on Sunday Night

Stuhbarg, who played gangster Arnold Rothstein on the show, was out for a run near Central Park when he was attacked by a homeless man wielding a rock.

The actor was close to East 90th and East Drive on the evening of March 31 when Xavier Israel, 27, threw a rock at his head, striking him in the back of the neck.

The 55-year-old suffered 'minor injuries' and he was seen on camera chasing Israel down to the Russian consulate at East 91st Street, where cops stationed outside apprehended the assailant. 

Other celebrities have been targeted at random on the Big Apple's streets in recent years, including comic actor Rick Moranis and reality star Bethenny Frankel.

Bethenny Frankel says she was randomly punched in New York City a couple of months ago; The reality star, 53, made the revelation in the comments section of a Tik Toker (right) who said she was randomly punched in New York City

Frankel, 53, revealed that she had been randomly punched a few months ago, describing the incident in the comments section of a TikToker who also claimed that she had been randomly assaulted.

'This is insane bc this happened to me a few months ago but I was embarrassed to say. I was on the UWS [Upper West Side]. I was taking video of a bakery,' she wrote in the comments section via Page Six, which she has since deleted.

A string of assaults on women have taken place recently in New York, with Page Six reporting in March that at least 25 women had posted on TikTok in just a few months to say it had happened to them.

These random punching attacks in New York City appeared to be part of a disturbing trend called the knockout game - where strangers punch random strangers in New York City with the intent of 'punching them unconscious.' 

According to the most recent NYPD crime statistics, the number of felony assaults recorded in the first quarter of this year went up by 3.8 per cent from 6,159 to 6,390.

The number of assaults in March also increased by 5.5 per cent on last year.