Why Richard Gere almost turned down his role as a beautiful woman

Imagine someone else but Richard Gere plays the role of Edward Lewis in the Pretty Woman — it’s hard to imagine, but it’s exactly what almost happened.

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

“To be clear, I really like the movie,” Gere said. “At first I didn’t understand.” There was no character. So I read this thing and I said, ‘It’s not for me. For me, that’s the suit that’s there in the movie.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing a movie,” he remembered saying. “But I can’t see myself doing this.”

Despite initial concerns, Gere eventually met with director Garry Marshall anyway.

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

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

In the end—and after “a lot of rewriting,” according to Gere— Pretty Woman turned into the classic that fans know today. The film follows Edward, a wealthy New York businessman, who hires a sex worker Vivian Ward (Roberts) to follow him for a week in Los Angeles. Despite their stark differences, the two grow closer and eventually fall in love.

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

“We ended up really trying to find a character that made sense within the structure and essence of what the piece was,” Geer explained. “Make it warm, charming, fun, sexy, you know? And we all loved each other. Great trust, we had a wonderful time, and we had no idea that it would be what it is.”

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

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

“I’m so proud of that movie and proud of the work process that we did to make that movie,” Geer said. “And I’m not only proud, but I’m grateful for that movie because it allowed me to do a lot of other things.”