Moment Boardwalk Empire's Michael Stuhlbarg sprints after homeless serial criminal who launched a rock into the back of his neck near Central Park

This is the moment Boardwalk Empire star Michael Stuhlbarg chases a homeless man down the street in New York City after being assaulted.

Stuhlbarg, 55, was approached seemingly at random by the assailant in an upscale neighborhood close to Central Park on Sunday evening, cops told DailyMail.com.

He was walking close to 90th and East Drive in the Upper East Side around 7:45pm when Xavier Israel, 27, threw a rock at his head, striking him in the back of the neck.

Stuhlbarg suffered 'minor injuries' and he ran after Israel down to the Russian consulate at East 91st Street, where cops stationed outside intercepted him. 

The chase was caught on camera by a local business in dramatic surveillance footage obtained by DailyMail.com.

The chase was caught on camera by a local business in dramatic surveillance footage obtained by DailyMail.com

Stuhlbarg, 55, was approached seemingly at random by a homeless man in the Upper East Side on Sunday Night

The actor was walking close to East 90th and East Drive around 7:45pm when Xavier Israel, 27, struck him in the back of his neck with a rock. (Pictured: Israel's booking photo last night)

The footage shows Israel, wearing what appears to be ripped pale blue jeans, a cropped t-shirt and a white shirt over his face and head, standing on a street corner.

He paces back and forth on the sidewalk close by a crosswalk, while holding a small makeshift bag in his fist.

In a second clip, Israel can be seen sprinting down the sidewalk beneath some scaffolding in the same outfit.

Seconds later, a man in a black top and bottoms runs down the road after him, and both are out of shot within seconds.

The actor was offered medical attention at the scene, but he refused treatment, the NYPD said. Israel, who is homeless, was taken into custody and charged with assault.

Pictured: Israel running towards the Russian Consulate where he was detained Sunday night

Pictured: Stuhlbarg chasing his assailant down the street after he struck him with a rock 

He has previously been arrested for two violent assaults and a robbery in January 2022, cops confirmed. 

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

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

The attacks all unfolded within the month of January 2022 and Israel does not have any further criminal record before or after this month, cops told DailyMail.com. 

Seconds later, a man in a black top and bottoms runs down the road after him, and both are out of shot within seconds.

The actor was offered medical attention at the scene, but he refused treatment, the NYPD said. Israel, who is homeless, was taken into custody and charged with assault.

Pictured: Xavier Israel being booked for a previous assault in Manhattan January 2022 

Israel used a coronavirus mask to obscure his identity when he appeared in court for the January assaults 

Pictured: Israel is arraigned in Manhattan Criminal court on assault and robbery charges for beating and ribbing a good Samaritan that tried to give him a coat in January 2022

Surveillance footage of Israel pummeling a man who offered him his coat amid freezing weather in January 2022

The first incident, where Israel attacked the man who offered him a coat, was caught on surveillance footage. 

Video shows the victim as he tried to help Israel, who had been lying on the sidewalk at 476 5th Avenue around 8pm on a particularly cold evening. 

The victim gently places a jacket he was wearing on Israel before the homeless man springs up and pushes him into 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 attempts to get his wallet back before Israel punches him and throws him back to the ground.

When Israel was arrested shortly afterwards on West 41st Street and 5th Avenue, officers found almost $1,500 in cash stuffed in his pants.  

Pictured: Hope Davis as Gina Baxter and Michael Stuhlbarg as Jimmy Baxter in Your Honor

Pictured: David Gordon Green (left) as Brad and Michael Stuhlbarg (right) as Jake in Bones And All

Pictured: Stuhlbarg poses for a portrait to promote the film '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 NYC's Central Park

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

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

He is perhaps best-known for playing Arnold Rothstein in HBO's Boardwalk Empire. 

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