Why Richard Gere almost turned down the role of a beautiful woman

Imagine anyone else but Richard Gere playing the role of Edward Lewis in A beautiful woman — it’s hard to imagine, but that’s exactly what almost happened.

Geer, 75, joined the host Scott Feinberg for Thursday, December 12, his episode Awards Chatter Podcast. it touched on Gere’s gratitude for this iconic role and his admission that he almost missed out on playing opposite him Julia Roberts in the 1990 romantic comedy.

“Let me be clear, I really like the movie,” Gere said. “I didn’t get it at first. He had no character. So I read this thing and I was like, “It’s not for me. To me, it’s a costume that has it in the movie.

“I don’t mind seeing the movie,” he recalled saying. “But I can’t see myself doing that.”

Despite his initial misgivings, Geer eventually met with director Garry Marshall anyway.

“We started talking about the script and I said, ‘Look, I just don’t see a character,'” Gere recounted, to which Marshall replied, “Let you and I find it.”

This was enough to convince Gere to meet with Roberts, who had already agreed to play Vivian. When Marshall called Gere 45 minutes into the meeting to find out what he thought of the young actress, the deal was already sealed.

“I said, ‘She’s adorable.’ She is great. And while I’m talking to him, she takes a Post-It off my desk and writes something on it,” Geer said. “Then she moves him across the table to me and he says, ‘Please say yes.’ So how can you say no to that?’

Eventually—and after “a lot of rewrites,” according to Gere— A beautiful woman became the classic that fans know today. The film follows Edward, a wealthy businessman from New York who hires a prostitute Vivian Ward (Roberts) to accompany him for a week in Los Angeles. Despite their great differences, the two grow closer and eventually fall in love.

Making the movie, Gere said, inspired him to work harder and figure out how to develop the character into something more complex.

“In the end, we really tried to find a character there that made sense within the structure and essence of what this piece is,” Geer explained. “Make it hearty, make it charming, make it funny, make it sexy, you know? And we all loved each other. Great trust, we had a great time and had no idea it would be what it is.’

The result was a box office hit that grossed nearly half a billion dollars during its run. Both Roberts and Gere earned Golden Globe nominations for their roles, with Roberts taking home the win for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Looking back, Gere couldn’t be prouder of his role in the film — or the long-running success it’s had over the years.

“I’m so proud of this film and the work process we did to create this film,” Gere said. “And not only am I proud, I’m grateful for this film because it allowed me to do so many other things.”