Actor Michael Rapaport is being hailed a hero after stopping a passenger from opening an emergency exit door aboard an American Airlines flight from Houston to Los Angeles.
The “Atypical” star explained in his “I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast” Sunday that he and former basketball players Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Baron Davis were sleeping in their first class seats Saturday when someone tapped him on the shoulder. That’s when the actor spotted a man trying to open the plane’s emergency exit.
“I got up out of my seat, half sleeping, with my headphones in my ear, and I put my hand on his shoulder, like ‘What the f— are you doing?’ He had two hands on the lever,” Rapaport said. “I said it three times, loud. The second time I said it, he still had his hand on the f—ing thing.”
Rapaport pinned him against the seat, and flight attendants and other passengers helped get the man away from the door. The man told crew members he thought the door he was trying to open was to the bathroom.
Rapaport posted a video on Twitter joking about the scary event with Davis and Big Baby.
Shit was real back to @flyLAXairport @thebig3 Airlines @BaronDavis
Big Baby Davis thinks he’s the next @TheRock pic.twitter.com/DGtIQXGbG3— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) June 23, 2018
Fox Sports director Ted Kenney was also aboard the flight and tweeted what he saw.
“You can read more on my timeline. But Mike jumped right up, yelling wtf r you doing. Big 3 players jumped up as well but mike grabbed the guy and stood between the door and this guy as he was holding him,” Kenney wrote.
Rapaport later said in his podcast, “Everyone thanked me and everyone did say I was brave and heroic. I consider myself a common man who does uncommon things. I’m not gonna confirm or deny this, but they’re talking statues.”