New York Tourist Gives A Homeless Man Her Leftover Pizza Only To Find Out He Was Someone She Never Expected

#1 Visiting The Big Apple

Karine Gombeau was visiting New York City recently when she encountered what appeared to be a homeless man sifting through garbage.

#2 She Offered The Homeless Man Her Cold Pizza

She gave him her leftover pizza. As she explained later, "He was going through a bin, I had food with me. I thought, 'He should have my pizza instead of going through that bin.'"

#3 The Man Was Grateful And Appreciative

Touched by the sorry sight of the man eating from a garbage bin, Gombeau offered him leftovers from an "enormous" pizza that she, her husband and 15-year-old son had ordered at an Italian eatery.

"What's in the bag?" the man asked her.

"I tried to tell him in English, but it came out half in French," she said.

"I said, ‘Je Suis désolée [I am sorry], but the pizza is cold.' "

"He said, ‘Thank you so much. God bless you,' " Gombeau recalled.

#4 She Noticed Several Homeless People On The Streets And Wished She Could Help Them All

She later noticed the same man standing in line at a soup kitchen with over 6 dozen others she believed were homeless. Gombeau said that she is emotionally affected by seeing others scrounging in the trash to find food. She says that she wishes she could do more to help those in need.

'It leaves me really sad to know we waste food and they have nothing,' she said. 'It really moves me.'

#5 It Broke Her Heart To See The Homelessness In NY

Gombeau, who works in the tourist industry, said it broke her heart to see homeless people in the Big Apple. However, later she discovered the man she had fed and helped was not homeless and was in fact, a famous actor undercover for a role he was doing.

#6 She Found Out The Vagrant Was Actor Richard Gere

She had no idea who he was until she saw the picture of their encounter in the media the following morning. "Suddenly, I look up to see the news and there I see myself, a picture of myself on the news," she said later. "I was taking breakfast with my family in the morning, and I see myself on the TV and think, 'What did I do? I don't believe this.'"

She had no idea that the man she gave her generosity to was Richard Gere, the star of such blockbusters as 'Pretty Woman' and 'An Officer and a Gentleman.' He is reportedly worth over $120 million.

#7 He Was Undercover Preparing For A Movie Role

"He was dressed in a way, with a cap, not shaved," she said of the actor's unbecoming appearance. "He looked like a man going through a rough time."

"He is definitely a good actor," she said. "It's an amazing experience. It's crazy."

As for her trip to the Big Apple, Gombreau explained. "A memory of New York I will keep for a very long time. For a first time in New York, I could not have wished for better."