‘Atypical’ Star Michael Rapaport Heroically Stops Passenger From Opening Emergency Exit Door Mid-Flight

Michael Rapaport performed a heroic act on Saturday, as the Atypical actor prevented a man from opening an emergency door on an American Airlines flight while the plane was in mid-flight.

An American Airlines rep said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that during the flight, a passenger asked the flight crew for directions to the bathroom, then attempted to open an emergency exit door on the side of the plane.

Rapaport then jumped to his feet and shouted “What the f— are you doing?” He then grabbed the passenger by the collar and pulled him away from the door by the collar.

The passenger claimed he was merely confused, according to the rep, and was allowed to return to his seat for the remainder of the flight.

Ted Kenney, a director at Fox Sports, recapped the events on Twitter.

“Crazy. On plane to LA from Houston,” Kenney wrote in a series of Tweets. “I am 11 rows back and I hear Michael Rapaport yell “Hey” but not in a normal way and very loud. Michael is sitting in the 1st row on the right. I see Michael shoot up out of his seat and rush to the area just between the bulkhead and the bathroom and yell ‘what the f%&* are you doing?’ Mike continues yelling so I jump up and rush up to to Michael as does some Big 3 players.

“I get to the bulkhead and Michael has this guy by the collar and manhandling him away from the emergency exit door. Michael tells us he was trying to open the door,” he continued. “Crew and staff where all in the back of the plane so nobody was looking out for our safety except Mr. New York.”

Rapaport posted a video to his Twitter account after the incident, hanging out with a few professional basketball players and waiting for the air marshals to take the passenger when they arrived at LAX.

“But no bulls— we’re waiting for the marshals to come,” Rapaport said. “We had a f— incident for real.”

The airline rep was unable to give the identity of the passenger.

Photo: Getty Images/Big 3/Ronald Martinez