(CNN) Ryan Gosling is defending his new Neil Armstrong biopic against pre-release criticism it has garnered over a decision by director Damien Chazelle to omit from the film the iconic placing of the American flag on the moon. "I think this was widely regarded in the end as a human achievement [and] that's how we chose to view it," Gosling reportedly said. "I also think Neil was extremely humble, as were many of these astronauts, and time and time again he deferred the focus from himself to the 400,000 people who made the mission possible." " allowfullscreen>Gosling, who is Canadian and joked he "might have cognitive bias," added: "So I don't think that Neil viewed himself as an American hero. Gosling's comments and the moment's omission prompted some criticism from conservatives and calls for a boycott of the film.

Source: CNN August 31, 2018 18:22 UTC