Subway Hero Revealed—And He’s an Off-Broadway Baby!

If you follow the local news, you've probably heard about New York City's latest subway hero: An unidentified commuter leaped to the rescue of someone who had fallen on the tracks at the Penn Station subway stop. But who was that masked man? Well, it turns out he's off-Broadway actor Chad Lindsey.

Lindsey is not just a reluctant superhero that pulls strangers out of harm's way, he is a New York transplant he moved to the city three years ago from his native Michigan, who is currently appearing in Elizabeth Swados and Erin Courtney's Kaspar Hauser at the Flea Theatre. As it turns out, Lindsey’s role prepared him for his until now anonymous rescue mission; his part in the show requires him to repeatedly lift someone who can’t walk. Art imitating life or vice versa? Hard to say. 

“He was hunched over on his front,” Lindsey told the The New York Times about the incident. “I grabbed him from behind, like under the armpits, and kind of got him over to the platform. It wasn’t very elegant. I just hoisted him up so his belly was on the platform.” He also yelled for someone to call the station agent. “Which is kind of hilarious because I don’t think I ever said ‘station agent’ before in my life. What am I, on 24?”

After saving the man identified as Theodore Larson, who went on to recuperate at St. Vincent's Hospital, Lindsey disappeared into the crowd. But the spotlight eventually found him, which makes a lot of sense for an actor who can now add "subway hero" to his resume.