Boardwalk Empire star Michael Stuhlbarg was brutally struck in the back of the neck by a homeless man carrying rocks near Central Park.

  • Stuhlbarg, 55, was approached by a homeless man seemingly at random on the Upper East Side on Sunday night, the NYPD told DailyMail.com.
  • The actor was walking near East 90th Street and East Drive around 7:45 p.m. when Xavier Israel, 27, hit him in the back of the neck with a rock.
  • Police confirmed that Israel is homeless and was previously arrested for two assaults and a robbery in January 2022



Boardwalk Empire star Michael Stuhlbarg was attacked by a homeless man carrying rocks near Central Park in New York City.

Cops told DailyMail.com that the attacker approached Stuhlbarg, 55, apparently at random in the upscale Upper East Side neighborhood on Sunday evening.

He was walking near East 90 and East Drive around 7:45 p.m. when Xavier Israel, 27, threw a rock at his head, hitting him in the back of the neck.

Stuhlbarg suffered “minor injuries” and chased Israel to the Russian consulate on East 91st Street, where he was arrested by police stationed outside.

Stuhlbarg, 55, was approached by a homeless man seemingly at random on the Upper East Side Sunday night.
The actor was walking near East 90th and East Drive around 7:45 p.m. when Xavier Israel, 27, hit him in the back of the neck with a rock. (Pictured: Israeli booking photo last night)
Pictured: Hope Davis as Gina Baxter and Michael Stuhlbarg as Jimmy Baxter in Your Honor

The New York Police Department said the actor received medical attention at the scene, but refused treatment. Israel, who is homeless, was taken into custody and charged with assault.

Police confirmed that he had previously been arrested for two violent assaults and a robbery in January 2022.

In one incident that month, he knocked a 59-year-old man to the ground and robbed him after the man tried to offer him a coat in freezing temperatures.

Israel was also arrested for attacking another person who offered help — this time a 49-year-old woman — and for allegedly beating two 18-year-olds in Central Park.

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Cops told DailyMail.com that all the attacks unfolded during January 2022, and Israel has no other criminal record before or after this month.

Pictured: Xavier Israel was booked for a previous assault in Manhattan in January 2022
Israel used an anti-coronavirus mask to hide his identity when he appeared in court over the January attacks
Pictured: Israel was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on assault and robbery charges for allegedly beating and misleading a good Samaritan who tried to give him a coat in January 2022
CCTV footage of Israel beating a man who offered him his coat in freezing weather in January 2022

The first incident, in which Israel attacked the man who offered him a coat, was captured on surveillance camera footage.

The video shows the victim trying to help Israel, who was lying on the sidewalk at 476 Fifth Avenue around 8pm on a very cold evening.

The victim gently places a jacket he was wearing on Israel before the homeless man gets up and pushes him to the ground.

Israel took the man's wallet from his back pants pocket while he was on the ground before fleeing the scene.

The victim tries to retrieve his wallet before Israel punches him and knocks him to the ground.

When Israel was arrested a short time later at West 41st Street and Fifth Avenue, officers found approximately $1,500 in cash hidden in his pants.

Pictured: David Gordon Green (left) as Brad and Michael Stuhlbarg (right) as Jake in Bones And All
Pictured: Stuhlbarg poses for a photo to promote the movie “Shirley” at the Music Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Park City, Utah.
Stuhlbarg was attacked in the upscale neighborhood on the east side of Central Park in New York City

Israel's latest victim, Stuhlbarg rose to fame playing troubled college professor Larry Gopnik in the 2009 black comedy A Serious Man.

The California-born actor has since portrayed George Yeaman in Lincoln, Lou Wasserman in Hitchcock, and Andy Hertzfeld in Steve Jobs.

He is perhaps best known for playing Arnold Rothstein on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.

Stuhlbarg has been honored with numerous awards including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, along with nominations for two Primetime Emmys, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe.

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