Ryan Gosling eats his cereal in touching tribute to meme creator

Ryan Gosling is a man of many memes -- the most recent being "Ryan Gosling Won't Eat His Cereal" on Vine -- but he rarely he comments on them publicly.

That all changed on this year when he talked "Hey Girl" at SXSW. On Monday, the 34-year-old actor took it one step further, filming himself eating cereal as tribute to the meme's creator, Ryan McHenry, who lost his life to cancer over the weekend.

"My heart goes out to all of Ryan McHenry's family and friends," he wrote in a follow-up tweet. "Feel very lucky to have been apart of his life in some small way."

McHenry, who was just 27 years old when he passed, was first diagnosed with bone cancer in 2013 shortly after creating the viral sensation.

On Sunday, Vine confirmed his death with a tribute post of its own after the platform's community helped raise funds-via an indiegogo campaign-for treatment and chemotherapy.

McHenry vowed to continue with the meme until Gosling admitted his love for the breakfast food. "The only conclusion I can see out of this whole thing is to have Ryan Gosling respond to this," he told The Verge. "Even if it's just him eating cereal."

In April, Gosling actually responded to McHenry on Twitter, jokingly telling him he'd never forgive the Scot for creating the meme. But following the creator's death, the Internet took it upon itself to rally Gosling to honor McHenry.

In less than 10 hours, the Vine of Gosling eating his cereal has been streamed over 9.7 million times. Hey girl, you did good.

A collection of McHenry's greatest Vines of Gosling not eating his cereal can be watched below:

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