These days, we won’t often talk about Hollywood actors in the same breath as "heroes"—unless we’re referring to Ronald Reagan—because a lot of them (yes, I’m looking at you, Robert De Niro) tend to spend more of their time spouting woke nonsense than they do making quality movies or standing tall for our country. Although he’s not a household name, a look at IMDB shows that thespian Jonathan Tucker has had a nice career in front of the camera, appearing in such television series as “Kingdom” and “City on the Hill.”
But perhaps his greatest starring role came last Sunday when he heard screams from a nearby residence and rushed barefoot into the house to find out what was going on. What he discovered was a home invasion in progress:
It happened around 6:34 p.m. on the Hancock Park neighborhood block where the actor lives with his industry executive wife, Tara, and their twin children. Tucker saw a stranger enter a home near his own and acted.
He quickly called 911, but didn’t just stop there:
While he was talking to police, Tucker spotted a door wide open and dashed into the house where the intruder had just gotten entry. He first encountered a terrified little girl who he carried to the street, handing the child off to his wife and went back in to find her mother and an infant "terrified, frantic," with the invader still in the house, and escorted them to safety.
Although the LAPD quickly showed up and took care of the situation, Tucker's 911 call and his subsequent actions were nevertheless instrumental in keeping the family safe. Police searched the house and found a deranged man hiding in a closet, but worse things could have happened had Tucker not intervened.
Here you see the invader brazenly enter the family's home:
Actor Jonathan Tucker is being hailed as a hero for rushing in to stop a home invasion in Hancock Park. Part of the terrifying encounter with the intruder was caught on camera. https://t.co/QfJ1deSqbs pic.twitter.com/4gEMY9sSYd
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 5, 2024
Tucker displayed impressive modesty despite his heroic efforts:
"If you want a quote, call the LAPD because those guys are the real heroes. They put their lives on the line every day multiple times a day," Tucker told Los Angeles. "They responded within minutes, while I was still on the phone with a 911 dispatcher. It was an extraordinary response."
The actor went on to say that he just did what anybody would do, but unfortunately, that’s not necessarily true. You might remember the story of Kitty Genovese, the 28-year-old bar manager who in 1964 was robbed, raped, and stabbed to death outside her apartment building in Queens while her neighbors supposedly ignored her screams and went about their business. The legend has been somewhat debunked since—some people did actually try to help and/or call the police—but the fact remains that many didn’t. Not everyone is going to run into a burning building to save a dog—that’s why we call the people who do “heroes.”
Good job, Jonathan Tucker—now you're not just a TV action hero, you're a real one.
This is one in a series about everyday heroes that don’t necessarily make the front pages. It’s a chance to talk about something other than Joe’s mumblings, Hamas terrorists, and rampant inflation.
I’m inviting readers to send me stories of people they know or who they’ve read about who have done heroic acts—large or small, physical or otherwise—that have made someone’s life better or saved them from danger. Please email me with any tips at [email protected] or DM me on Twitter. Thanks!
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