It's hard to imagine anyone other than Richard Gere as Edward Lewis in “Pretty Woman,” and yet it almost happened.
Winning perseverance. In the “Awards Chatter” podcast, revealed that he almost turned down the iconic role of Edward Lewis alongside Julia Roberts in the romantic comedy “Pretty Woman” in 1990. “I'm very proud of this film, of creative process behind its creation, and grateful for what it allowed me to do afterwards,” he said.
“At first I didn’t understand it. There was no character. So I read the script and I said to myself: “It's not for me. It's a costume that's there in the film. I wouldn't be against seeing the film, but I don't see myself doing that” added the actor. Despite her doubts, the star finally met director Garry Marshall. “We started talking about the script and I said, 'Look, I just don't see a character,'” he said, to which the videographer replied, “Let's figure it out together, you and me.”
This approach convinced Richard Gere to meet Julia Roberts, already signed to play Vivian. The actor explained that the director even called his office 45 minutes after the start of his meeting with the young actress to find out what he thought of her. “I said, 'She's lovely. She's great.' And while I'm talking to her, she takes a Post-It note from my desk and writes something on it. Then she moves it across the table towards me and it says, “Please say yes.” So how can you say no to that?,” he said.
A cinema classic
“We ended up really trying to find a character that fit the structure and fit the essence of what this work was to make it heartfelt, charming, fun, sexy, you know? And we all loved each other. We had a lot of confidence, we had a great time, and we had no idea that it was going to be what it became,” concluded the actor.
“Pretty Woman” tells the story of Edward, a wealthy businessman, who hires Vivian, a sex worker, to accompany him to Los Angeles for a week. Against all odds, their relationship evolves into a love story.
A phenomenal box office success, the film grossed nearly half a billion dollars during its run. Both headliners received Golden Globe nominations for their respective roles, with Julia Roberts winning Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
