Ryan Gosling Confesses Confusion About 'Hey Girl' Meme at SXSW: 'I Never Actually Said It'
Ryan Gosling and Guillermo Del Toro spoke on a panel at South by Southwest on Friday to discuss Gosling's directorial debut, Lost River. During the panel, Del Toro ribbed Gosling for his goofy Disneyland photo shoots and the ubiquitous  "Hey Girl " Ryan Gosling memes. Gosling expressed confusion as to how his likeness became associated with the phrase  "Hey Girl. "  "I understand if you're in a movie and you say something like 'I'll be back,' you gotta own that, " Gosling told the crowd, according to Reuters.  "But I never said it. " NEWS: Eva Mendes Puts On a Sexy-Scary Show in Ryan Gosling's Lost River He continued to explain how the meme has been literally following him around.  "I go on the street and some guy goes, 'Hey girl,' " he said. Del Toro immediately pointed out that now Gosling has, in fact, uttered the phrase  "Hey Girl. " Gosling laughed and covered his face with his hands, dropping the mic and joking that he was  "done. " Gosling also discussed his new movie, which he directed and wrote. He said directing is an exercise in authenticity.  "You try and make things that everyone's going to like, " he said in a video captured by the Austin American-Statesman.  "You feel foolish, in the end, to pretend to know what that is. Only you know what you like and want to see. And it's the only thing, I think, if you're going to direct a film, because you have to make thousands of decisions every day. The only place you can come from is what you gravitate towards and what works for you. " Gosling and actress Eva Mendes, who stars in Lost River, recently welcomed a baby girl, who they named Esmerelda Amada. Check out more unusual celebrity baby names: Why has Ryan Gosling never been named  "Sexiest Man Alive? " Entertainment Tonight investigates: