US actor Steve Buscemi is OK after he was punched in the face by a man on a New York street, his publicist says.

The 66-year-old star of Fargo and Boardwalk Empire was assaulted on Wednesday morning (local time) in Manhattan and taken to a nearby hospital with bruising, swelling and bleeding to his left eye.

“Steve Buscemi was assaulted in Midtown Manhattan, another victim of a random act of violence in the city,” his publicist said.

“He is OK and appreciates everyone’s well wishes.”

The assault was first reported by 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,” a worker in the area who witnessed part of the assault told the newspaper.

“He right away got up and ran in the opposite direction. I didn’t see who hit him.”

The New York Police Department put out a nameless statement on the assault on Wednesday.

Buscemi’s representative confirmed on Sunday that the actor was the unidentified assault victim in the police statement.

The NYPD said there were no arrests and the investigation was continuing.

Buscemi is a beloved figure in his native New York.

He was once one of the city’s firefighters and famously rushed to the site of the World Trade Centre after the September 11 attacks to join his former fire company.

Back in March, Buscemi’s Boardwalk Empire co-star Michael Stuhlbarg was hit in the back of the neck with a rock while walking in Manhattan’s Central Park.

Stuhlbarg chased his attacker, reportedly into the hands of police stationed outside the Russian Consulate.

The man was taken into custody.

-with AAP