The actor starring in a film about Neil Armstrong’s successful moon landing is defending a decision not to depict the astronaut planting the American flag on the moon's surface.

The biographical film, "First Man," premiered at the Venice Film Festival Wednesday, and received high accolades from critics, even with the omission of the iconic image of the American flag on the moon, Business Insider reported .

Ryan Gosling, who portrays Armstrong, defended the decision Wednesday, claiming that the moment “transcended countries and borders.”

"I think this was widely regarded in the end as a human achievement [and] that's how we chose to view it,” Gosling told the Telegraph . “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."

Gosling said he doesn’t feel that Armstrong viewed himself as an “American hero,” based on what people know about him from interviews with family.

The actor is from Canada, and joked that he may have “cognitive bias” on the subject.