It’s hard to picture another actor other than Richard Gere playing the lead role in the 1990 classic hit Pretty Woman. But that’s what almost happened as the actor initially turned down the film because he couldn’t connect with his role.
The 75-year-old admitted during an interview on the The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast that the movie didn’t appeal to him at first because he “didn’t understand” it. He also felt his role as Edward Lewis, a suave and rich businessman, lacked character and was superficial at best.
His initial reaction was that Edward was “just a suit” saying: “There was no character. So, I read this thing, and I said, ‘It’s not for me.’” The Agency star added that he was also initially “uncomfortable” meeting with director Gary Marshall since he had already made up his mind that he didn’t want to do the movie.
However, the two men eventually met and decided to work together to find Edward’s character. Gere recalled that they started talking about the script and he point blank told him, “Look, I just don’t see a character,” to which Marshall replied, “Let’s you and me find it.”
“We ended up, you know, really trying to find a character there that made sense within the structure and, you know, the essence of what that piece was. To make it heartfelt, to make it charming, make it fun, make it sexy, you know? And we all loved each other. Great trust, we had a wonderful time, and we had no idea that it was gonna be what it was.”
The actor remembered that Marshall also convinced him to meet up with his leading lady, Julia Roberts, who had already agreed to play sex worker Vivian Ward. Gere shared that 45 minutes into meeting the actress, the director called to ask him what he thought of her.
“I said, ‘She’s adorable. She’s great.’ And while I’m talking to him, she takes a Post-It off of my desk and she writes on it something. Then she moves it across the table to me and it says, ‘Please say yes.’ So how could you say no to that?”
Looking back, the actor is only thankful that the movie exists and he worked in it because it finally gave him the freedom to work on diverse projects. The film catapulted Gere and Roberts into Hollywood stardom, with the actress winning the Golden Globes award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy. The two also reunited on screen for another of Marshall’s rom-com film, Runaway Bride, in 1999.
Pretty Woman became a cult classic that even up to this day, viewers still find Edward and Vivian’s love story endearing. It’s become a family film despite its dark undertone, something that Gere found amusing when told by Collider‘s Tania Hussain that she watched the movie when she was five years old.
“You were too young! It was about a hooker!” he exclaimed with a laugh. Gere shared that none of the cast or crew thought the film would become a cultural hit and that they didn’t think it “was going to be part of the zeitgeist of the universe” when they filmed it. But nevertheless, he is equally happy that the film is a part of “almost everyone’s consciousness at this point.”