Indeed, celebrities have made headlines for everything from rescuing folks from certain death to stopping burglars in their tracks. John Krasinski, for one, saved a young woman from drowning while living in Costa Rica after his high school graduation.

“One of the places I went was this amazing beach called Manuel Antonio that I didn’t realize had an insane riptide,” the actor told Playboy in March 2018. “While I was swimming there — this is a story I’ve never told anybody — this Costa Rican girl and an American guy were swimming right next to me, and we were knee-deep. I went underwater for a second, and when I came back up, he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Literally, in three seconds, the girl had been swept 150 yards out.”

Krasinski reacted immediately. “In that moment, I didn’t ask anyone. There was no one to help me. I just went out and tried to save her,” he recalled. “And then, of course, when I got out there, I was in a crosscurrent with her. It was one of those moments of ‘Oh, my God, you just made a poor choice and it might cost you your life.’”

The Jack Ryan star noted that he “didn’t think about it like that” at the time. “It was just this survival instinct,” he said. “It was really weird — like the girl was asking me to let her die. But I got her back.”

Surfers eventually interceded to help them make it back to the shore, but the moment stuck with Krasinski. “Granted, not everybody needs to have life-or-death experiences, but that changed my entire life,” he revealed. “All of a sudden I grew up.”

Meanwhile, other celebrities — such as Idris Elba, Tom Cruise, Ryan Gosling and Jennifer Lawrence — have similar stories that occurred after they achieved worldwide recognition.

Scroll down to revisit stars’ heroic efforts to help others through the years.

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This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Us Weekly Staff