Richard Gere turns 77, recalling why he resisted taking Pretty Woman

Richard Gere repeatedly refused the role that became one of his most recognizable performances. When Pretty Woman was being cast, he did not consider Edward Lewis a meaningful challenge and saw the character as a single, unchanging type.

Julia Roberts, convinced that the 1990 film had promise, tried to change his mind during a casting test. She wrote "just say yes" on a piece of paper and showed it to Gere. He eventually accepted the part.

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Just say yes.

The film became a major success and gave Gere a lesson he had not previously considered central to his work: reaching a mass audience. He later said the movie connected with people from many cultures, including viewers living in severe poverty. In his account, audiences identified with the story of a wealthy man and a woman who sold sexual services, and some watched the film repeatedly.

Despite the success and the visibility it brought him, Gere later described Pretty Woman as the film he liked least. The article marks his 77th birthday by revisiting that tension between his initial reluctance, the movie’s enduring popularity and the broader audience it brought to his acting.

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I had never considered it important for me to communicate with a very broad audience, but this film created connections with all kinds of cultures.