It wasn’t until we saw Ryan Gosling in ‘Blue Valentine’ that we realized what a talented actor he was (OK, so we’re behind the curve sometimes). And it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that we found out that he’s a real-life hero and good Samaritan when the viral video of him breaking up a street fight inundated cyberspace. Now, we find out the star of the upcoming ‘Drive’ is humble, too. According to an interview at MTV.com, Gosling has been rather embarrassed by the whole thing.

“I think that guy really was stealing that other guy’s painting, so I should have just kept my nose out of it,” he told MTV while on a press junket for ‘Drive.’ “It was sad, because it turns out that I said to the guy, ‘Why are you doing this?’ He said, ‘Well, he tried to steal my painting.’ I said, ‘How do you know?’ and he said, ‘Well, he comes here every day and looks at my paintings,’ which means the guy was a fan, and so he wanted the painting so bad he had to steal it because he couldn’t afford it. So he finally steals the painting, and then he’s getting his ass kicked by his hero.”

And so Gosling intervened. But he didn’t think that anyone had come out ahead. Certainly not the painter, who beat up a fan, and certainly not the fan. But Gosling has, in the minds of his fans, become a positive role model and hero. “I had just come from the gymnasium, and I was all stretched out and feeling warmed up. So, I’m embarrassed,” he added.