John Malkovich may soon have a new role added to his IMDB account: hero. Saturday, June 8 the actor saved a bleeding man's life in the streets of Toronto.
Jim Walpole, an Ohio native, was having a pretty great time visiting Canada. The 77-year-old spent most of Saturday walking around Toronto.
After a meal that was totally to die for, Walpole exited the restaurant. Here's where his trip went south.
Jim took a bit of a tumble and fell on some scaffolding, slitting his throat. Blood was spilling out so forcefully that Walpole's wife believed his jugular had been severed.
It was her screams that first alerted John Malkovich. The A-list movie star, who is currently performing in Canada's production of The Giacomo Variations, happened to be nearby.
Smoking a cigarette outside of the Elgin Theatre, Malkovich rushed over to the bleeding man. He removed his scarf and used it to apply pressure.
Walpole commented to Toronto paper The Sun, praising Malkovich for his heroism and skill.
"[Malkovich] started to press on my neck. He said he was trying to stop the bleeding."
A passersby who also assisted Malkovich with the injured man commented thusly:
"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.'"
This was a good call. Malkovich and crew were able to save the man's life until the paramedics could arrive.
Before he was taken to an area hospital, Walpole asked Malkovich for his name. Malkovich responded coolly, just saying "John."
It wasn't until later that he realized he had been saved by a world-renowned actor. Hallelujah!
