Richard Gere needed convincing to star alongside Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’

Richard Gere has admitted that he needed some convincing to star in hit rom-com Pretty Woman.

Speaking on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Gere, who stars opposite Julia Roberts in the film, said, “I’m so proud of that movie and proud of the work process that we did to create that movie. And I’m not only proud, I’m thankful for that movie because it allowed me to do a lot of other things too.”

Although at first he “didn’t understand” the film, Gere said, “There was no character. So, I read this thing, and I said, ‘It’s not for me.’”

He added that he thought his character, a wealthy businessman Edward Lewis, was “just a suit.”

Additionally, Gere recalled nervousness before meeting director Garry Marshall because he was hesitant to do the movie.

He said, “We start talking about the script and I said, ‘Look, I just don’t see a character’” to which Marshall responded, “Let’s you and me find it.”

Eventually after meeting Roberts, Gere said, “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?”

“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,” Gere added further.