Steve Buscemi, who plays the veteran firefighter Papa in this movie, really did serve as a firefighter for a period during his early 20s. In a 2000 Salon interview with Stephen Lemons, Buscemi said he was with Engine 55 in Manhattan's Little Italy neighborhood from 1980 to 1984, when he quit to pursue acting full-time. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Buscemi (by then a well-known movie star) returned to Engine 55 to help search through the rubble of the World Trade Center looking for survivors or remains. In June 2020, Buscemi told Entertainment Weekly's Derek Lawrence that The King of Staten Island was the first time in his acting career that he had ever actually played a firefighter.

According to the timeline of the movie, a large part of this would've taken place during late fall to winter months. (Plans to visit Ray's parents for thanksgiving, Scott talking to his sister at the Halloween party, etc.) However, the weather is summer like the entire movie.

Dedicated to the Memory of Scott Davidson

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