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American actor Steve Buscemi has delivered a very Australian message to celebrate the New South Wales Fire Brigade Employees' Union.
The Boardwalk Empire star, 63, who worked as a New York City firefighter in the '80s before becoming an actor, praised NSW firefighters in a video that resurfaced online this week - before showing his solidarity by doing a 'shoey'.
The phrase 'doing a shoey' is an Australian slang term referring to the act of drinking alcohol - usually beer - out of a person's shoe.
Shoeys have become popular among Australian athletes performing on the world stage, with Formula 1 star Daniel Ricciardo recently celebrating his Italian Grand Prix victory by drinking beer out of his own shoe.
Buscemi told fans he knows how tough it can be to battle infernos in NYC, but that Australian fighters inevitably have it much tougher - especially in bushfire season.
'Being a city dweller myself I have no idea what it's like battling bushfires,' he said.
He's true blue! Steve Buscemi, 63, supported New South Wales firefighters by doing a shoey filled with Foster's beer and Vegemite in a viral video that resurfaced this week
'I only know that it's extremely unpredictable and dangerous and, as we know, there is no such thing as a routine fire: no matter how experienced you are, you can find yourself in a tough spot in the blink of an eye.'
Buscemi went on to criticise the New South Wales government for failing to give its firefighters a generous enough pay increase in 2020.
Finishing off his
