This actor was banned for 20 years from the Oscars after a (too) committed speech: yet he returned after only 10 years!

News culture This actor was banned for 20 years from the Oscars after a (too) committed speech: yet he returned after only 10 years!

You probably know him for his role in “Pretty Woman” (1990), alongside Julia Roberts. Just with this feature filmRichard Gere became one of the emblematic figures of Hollywood at the end of the twentieth century. It is this star status that allowed him to be the presenter of nominees at the 1993 Academy Awards. The actor took advantage of this window of opportunity to convey a political message against the Chinese government.

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Exile

To recall the context: under the governance of Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese Communist Party had institutionalized repression aimed at extinguishing any pro-democracy movement within its territory. This authoritarian response was further strengthened during the 1990s, particularly since the Tiananmen Square event of 1989. Several executions of peaceful activists took place. It was by denouncing “this horrifying situation regarding human rights that is happening in China” during the 1993 Oscars ceremony that Richard Gere attracted the wrath of the academy. In reaction to his committed speech, the institution banned him for 20 years. At the same time, China included him on the list of people banned for life from entering the country. This did not prevent Richard Gere from continuing his actions since in 2008 the man called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games.

Consequences not necessarily negative

However, not even ten years after his banishment, The “Pretty Woman” headliner is back at the Oscars as the film “Chicago,” in which he was involved, was nominated for the 2003 Oscars. Playing the lead role in this project, Richard Gere received the award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical” at the Golden Globes. To date, he has never been individually nominated by the Academy Awards. Moreover, since his speech in 1993, the actor has no longer been engaged in productions mainstreams.

But this seems not to affect him so much, as evidenced by his comments reported by The Hollywood Reporter in 2017: “I’ve had enough success over the last three decades to act in smaller films now”. An example of these smaller productions is “Oh, Canada” (2024) a film where Richard Gere plays Leonard, a Vietnam War refugee who comes to Canada to become a filmmaker. The project was nominated at Cannes this year, but did not win any awards.