Celebrities are notoriously known for being extremely self-absorbed. I saw Patrick Dempsey at the 2011 Transformers: Dark of the Moon premier in New York City a few years ago and was appalled by how dismissive he was of fans. A year later, the Grey's Anatomy star saved a teen from a car crash. I guess there's more than what meets the eye.
Patrick is not the only actor who has can be labeled a hero. There's a handful of celebrities who have done such outstanding deeds that you will never be able to look at them the same way again.
1. Heidi Klum
The America's Got Talent judge was on vacation in Hawaii watching her oldest son and nannies swimming in the ocean, when suddenly a dangerous tide swept them away. She and her then-boyfriend Martin Kristen ran into the water and dragged all of them to safety. Once they were safe on land, Klum ran to get water for the victims.
"I did what any mother would do," she told People. "Henry swam out of it. I grabbed him at the shore. The nannies were the ones in much deeper trouble."
2. Garth Brooks
A decade after Garth Brooks's hit "Standing Outside The Fire," the country singer would never have imagined being in a situation where he would have to make a decision on whether to watch a fire burn down a home, or jump in and save lives.
In 2003, Brooks was faced with that decision, and he definitely made the right move. He rushed into a burning home in Oklahoma and saved two young boys who were home alone.
"The fire came in like a bullet," one of the boys told ABC News. "The flames were taller than the house. You couldn't see anything because the smoke was so thick."
Brooks loaded the children up in his truck until firefighters arrived. And what's perhaps even more astonishing is that Brooks didn't even seek recognition for his good deed.
3. Blake Shelton
The Voice coach was driving near the Oklahoma River when he spotted a group of men stuck in a mudslide. Unable to get them to safety with the use of his body weight or his truck, Blake went back to get his tractor to pull the three men out.
If it wasn't for the country singer's helping hand, the young men would have been stuck there for days!
"He's an all-around nice, caring guy," one of the boys recalled of the Shelton. "I would say he is a hero."
After Shelton's heroic efforts, he even posed for a picture with his fans, who later posted the whole ordeal on social media.
4. John Oates (Hall & Oates)
While Daryl Hall and John Oates were dining at an Australian restaurant in the 80s, a robber stormed inside the place with a gun.
Instead of lying down, John Oates, the electric guitarist, pushed the robber on the glass door and restrained him until the police showed up.
There's no telling how many people could have been hurt if Oates didn't think fast. And good thing he did, because the robber was quite well-known in the local community as the "Rusty Gun Bandit."
So not only did Oates save the day, he was also able to prevent many future heists.
5. John Krasinski
Like Heidi, The Office star also put his swimming skills to good use when a riptide almost drowned a woman in Costa Rica.
"Literally in three seconds the girl had been swept 150 yards out," John recalled of the time he used to live in the Spanish country as a teenager.
He risked his life to swim out and try to save the woman, and luckily he succeeded.
"Granted, not everybody needs to have life-or-death experiences, but that changed my entire life. All of a sudden I grew up," he told Playboy.
6. Ashton Kutcher
The That '70s Show actor nearly committed suicide when he was only 13, all because he wanted to donate his heart to his twin brother who was fighting for his life.
"I'm standing on the balcony, thinking about jumping off, and my dad comes out and says, 'What are you thinking about?'" recalled Ashton, according to Hollywood. "I tell him. He comes over and says, 'You can't do that.'"
Miraculously, a heart donor was found and the transplant was a success. Although the 40-year-old actor didn't save his brother's life by taking his own, he was literally a step away from doing so, and that's heroic in my eyes.
7. Ryan Gosling
Not all of us have the courage to break up a fight. It's not that we don't want to stop it, but that we're worried we're going to get seriously injured just by getting involved.
When The Notebook star saw a fight break out in the streets of New York City, he couldn't pass by without making sure everyone was okay. He stepped in and broke up the fight before anyone got seriously injured.
One of the men almost swung his arm into Gosling's head, but the actor remained calm. After the fight broke up, he walked the men out from the busy intersection to the sidewalk, before they caused a collision.
8. Kate Winslet
The Oscar winner's character in Titanic may not have been able to save the life of Jack Dawson, but the actress herself has made an effort to save the life of others.
In 2011, Winslet saved the life of a wealthy 90-year-old woman who was stuck in a burning home in the Caribbean. She reportedly picked the woman up while she was descending stairs and carried her to safety.
"I think she was worried that I was holding up her children, so she picked me up and carried me," the elderly lady recalled.
While to some this may sound like a selfish act, it actually wasn't done out of malice. Winslet was making sure that not only the lady would come out of alive, but also the people who were held up behind her.
It requires a lot of quick thinking when you're surrounded by flames!
9. Harrison Ford
I love every movie starring Harrison Ford, but I never knew what kind of person he is in real life until I read a story about him participating in rescue missions.
It's not easy to fly a helicopter while searching for people. A lot of lives have been lost trying to do so.
I admire the actor so much more after learning he saved the lives of two hikers who got lost in a forest and were extremely dehydrated.
He also saved the life of a teenage Boy Scout who was lost in Yellowstone National Park. The 13-year-old boy was missing for 18 hours and spent the night sleeping in a cave.
"I'd just like to express my gratitude to him and my best wishes," the boy told ABC News 13 years later. "I was always grateful and hoped the best for him."
10. Mark Harmon
The NCIS star pulled two teenage boys from a burning car in 1996. He smashed the windows with a sledgehammer and pulled the boys, who suffered serious burns, to safety.
More than a decade after the incident, one of the victims said, "There's no way I can repay him, except for pay it forward, and I try to do that in my life."
It took years until Harmon opened up about that day, and he's still not sure if he's considered a hero:
"I won't take credit for it, because if the car explodes and I'm there next to the car, then you're talking about two young boys who don't have a father. And you'd be doing this interview with my wife and talking about how stupid it was."
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[H/T: People / Ranker]
