http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/21621181/detail.html
Actor Gets Mugged, Decides To Improvise
26-Year-Old Improv Comedian Takes On Robber In Cambridge
By Jim Haddadin
Staff Writer
POSTED: 11:52 am EST November 15, 2009
UPDATED: 2:57 pm EST November 15, 2009
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Comments (11)BOSTON -- Daniel Faneuf had two shows behind him, two drinks in him and at least two inches on the man who police say tried to mug him on Friday morning, so he decided to improvise.
The 26-year-old actor, who had spent the evening performing onstage at the Improv Asylum in Boston, said he was a few blocks from his home in Cambridge when a man grabbed his arm and allegedly tried to rob him with a pellet gun at about 1:15 a.m.
“He said, ‘I hate to have to do this to you,’ and then he took out a gun and pointed it at my throat,” said Faneuf.
Improv Asylum
Although he didn’t realize the gun was a look-alike at the time, Faneuf, who stands 6 feet, 4 inches tall, said something else about the man telegraphed that he didn’t have the mettle to pull the trigger.
“He didn’t come across like he was going to take me down, so I just pushed, almost slowly, his hand back toward his chest and grabbed his jacket with my hand,” he said.
Faneuf managed to wrap the pellet gun inside the man’s jacket, pin it against his chest and then strike him in the face, he said. The man fell to the ground near the corner of Norfolk and Washington streets, and Faneuf grabbed the gun and pistol-whipped him in the back of the head, he said.
“The role reversal was amazing,” said Faneuf. “Don’t get me wrong, I was obviously scared, but I was just more pissed off that he had the gall to do that.”
Faneuf said the assailant, identified as a 20-year-old man by Cambridge police, told him that he was trying to make money for his family and began pleading for Faneuf to release him. He managed to pin the robber by the neck with one foot and call police while the two tussled on the ground, he said.
Within two minutes, Cambridge police arrived at the scene and separated the two, and Faneuf explained the situation while the officers held him in handcuffs.
Faneuf, who was carrying his iPhone, his keys, and about $100 at the time, said he wasn’t sure what compelled him to fight back against the robber, but as an improvisational comedian, he’s trained to riff off of his partners on stage.
“We all imagine that we’d do the smart thing,” said Faneuf. “Maybe in that situation the smart thing is to give him your money."
Actor Gets Mugged, Decides To Improvise
26-Year-Old Improv Comedian Takes On Robber In Cambridge
By Jim Haddadin
Staff Writer
POSTED: 11:52 am EST November 15, 2009
UPDATED: 2:57 pm EST November 15, 2009
Email Print
Comments (11)BOSTON -- Daniel Faneuf had two shows behind him, two drinks in him and at least two inches on the man who police say tried to mug him on Friday morning, so he decided to improvise.
The 26-year-old actor, who had spent the evening performing onstage at the Improv Asylum in Boston, said he was a few blocks from his home in Cambridge when a man grabbed his arm and allegedly tried to rob him with a pellet gun at about 1:15 a.m.
“He said, ‘I hate to have to do this to you,’ and then he took out a gun and pointed it at my throat,” said Faneuf.
Improv Asylum
Although he didn’t realize the gun was a look-alike at the time, Faneuf, who stands 6 feet, 4 inches tall, said something else about the man telegraphed that he didn’t have the mettle to pull the trigger.
“He didn’t come across like he was going to take me down, so I just pushed, almost slowly, his hand back toward his chest and grabbed his jacket with my hand,” he said.
Faneuf managed to wrap the pellet gun inside the man’s jacket, pin it against his chest and then strike him in the face, he said. The man fell to the ground near the corner of Norfolk and Washington streets, and Faneuf grabbed the gun and pistol-whipped him in the back of the head, he said.
“The role reversal was amazing,” said Faneuf. “Don’t get me wrong, I was obviously scared, but I was just more pissed off that he had the gall to do that.”
Faneuf said the assailant, identified as a 20-year-old man by Cambridge police, told him that he was trying to make money for his family and began pleading for Faneuf to release him. He managed to pin the robber by the neck with one foot and call police while the two tussled on the ground, he said.
Within two minutes, Cambridge police arrived at the scene and separated the two, and Faneuf explained the situation while the officers held him in handcuffs.
Faneuf, who was carrying his iPhone, his keys, and about $100 at the time, said he wasn’t sure what compelled him to fight back against the robber, but as an improvisational comedian, he’s trained to riff off of his partners on stage.
“We all imagine that we’d do the smart thing,” said Faneuf. “Maybe in that situation the smart thing is to give him your money."
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