‘Red 2’ star John Malkovich does Reddit AMA, talks Tim Hortons and saving lives

What do you get when actor John Malkovich – star of such films as “Con Air,” “Being John Malkovich, ” and the upcoming “Red 2” – takes part in an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) on popular social news site Reddit? A heck of an entertaining read, that’s what!

The notoriously eccentric actor/director took part in the unfiltered question and answer session with Reddit users this week, fielding queries of all sorts about his career, his life, and show business in general. Anyone familiar with Malkovich – particularly his distinctive reedy voice – will undoubtedly hear the actor’s cutting tones in their head as they read through the AMA.

Reddit readers being Reddit readers, the conversation quickly turned the actor’s attractive “Red 2” co-star Mary-Louise Parker. When asked what pick-up line he would use on Parker, Malkovich dodged the question at first, calling the “Weeds” actress his “hero” and lamenting the fact that a “vomiting in tandem” scene that the two shot for the movie ended up on the cutting room floor, but he eventually said he would probably take a direct, Arnold Schwarzenegger-like approach – Austrian accent and all.

Malkovich also dished on his “Being John Malkovich” collaborators director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman, calling the duo “visionaries.” He later debunked a long-standing myth that a drunk extra threw a can of beer at him on set – a moment Jonze supposedly liked so much that he kept in the movie – revealing that it was a planned scene and the beer can was actually thrown by John Cusack’s writing partner.

The Q&A also took a decidedly Canadian turn when Malkovich was asked about a June incident in which he helped save a man’s life in Toronto. The actor made headlines after coming to the rescue of an elderly Ohio tourist who tripped and seriously slashed his throat on some scaffolding; Malkovich reportedly rushed in and applied pressure to the man’s wound with his trademark scarf until paramedics arrived. A Reddit user asked if Malkovich had had a chance to speak with the man since the incident.

“No," Malkovich replied, "I did leave him a letter, though. I was happy he made it through, ok. He seemed such a dignified and preternaturally calm man."

The Canada-related questions continued when another Redditor asked Malkovich if he'd ever tried one of the East Coast's famous donairs.

"I'm exceedingly loyal only to Tim Hortons,” Malkovich cryptically replied, perhaps unaware that the iconic Canadian coffee chain does not actually serve the pita-based Maritime delicacy.

All told, Malkovich spent nearly two hours answering Reddit's questions and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the AMA experience, summing it up thusly:

"It was very enjoyable not having the media filter. Thank you for your questions and comments. funny or bright or sincere and even hateful. Take care. Maybe see you someday."

"Red 2" hits theatres on July 19.