Acclaimed actor John Malkovich helped keep a man from bleeding to death on a sidewalk in Toronto after the man tripped and cut his neck open on a piece of scaffolding.
On Thursday, Ohio tourist Jim Walpole, 77, and his wife Marilyn, 79, were heading back to the King Edward Hotel near the Elgin Theatre when Walpole tripped and fell on a piece of scaffolding. He cut his neck which began to bleed profusely, reported the Toronto Star.
Malkovich – who was in Toronto to star in the play The Giacomo Variations - was standing outside and smoking a cigarette when Mrs. Walpole started screaming for help.
The actor ran over and pressed his scarf firmly against the grievous neck wound to stem the bleeding.
Paramedics eventually arrived and carried Walpole off to St. Michael’s Hospital where he received ten stitches.
The Inquisitr had further details on the story, reporting that the hotel’s doorman, Ben Quinn, witnessed the accident and was impressed by Malkovich’s quick thinking and calm demeanor, even though he didn’t recognize the famous actor.
Quinn said, “The guy really seemed to know what he was doing. We didn’t know who he was. I just asked if I could hold the man’s head and he said yes.”
Malkovich left as soon as the paramedics arrived and without ever revealing his full name to the ill-fated Walpoles who, it turns out, had never watched any of his films.
When Walpole asked for his name during the ordeal, Malkovich said, “My name is John and you are going to be all right.”
Afterwards, Mr. and Mrs. Walpole said they planned to watch all of Malkovich’s films, all 70 of them.
Walpole said, “I owe them all my life, but the first guy [Malkovich] really seemed to know what to do. He took over like a doctor.”