Tom Hanks was among the attendees at a benefit for the David Lynch Foundation at New York City’s Plaza Hotel on Wednesday night, and was onstage discussing the benefits of transcendental meditation with moderator Bob Roth (head of the foundation) and actress Mary Louise Parker (“Weeds”) when disaster struck.
As TMZ reports (and as can be seen in the video above), Roth’s nose suddenly started to bleed profusely, a mere three minutes into their chat.
As Parker attended to Roth and his nosebleed, Hanks immediately sprang into standup-comic mode, distracting the audience with jokes and banter to take their attention away from the bloody disaster taking place onstage.
According to TMZ, the audience members “seemed startled and amused all at the same time. We’re told Bob’s OK, and he eventually returned … to a rousing ovation.”
