Richard Gere, star of the 1990 romantic comedy classic Pretty Woman, recently opened up about a pivotal acting tip he received from director Garry Marshall. The advice not only shaped Gere’s portrayal of Edward Lewis but also influenced the chemistry between his character and Julia Roberts’ Vivian Ward, making it one of the most iconic on-screen pairings of all time.
In a recent interview, Gere opened up about what it was like working across from Roberts in the 1990 flick. While trying to nail down their characters’ chemistry, Marshall, screenwriter and film director known for Overboard (1987), The Princess Diaries (2001) and Valentine’s Day (2010), offered some sage advice to Gere and Julia Roberts.
“So, we’re working on Pretty Woman and we’re trying to figure out how to do this and we’re fooling around with the director, Garry Marshall, who’s incredible,” Gere shared. “I love Garry… Julia’s there and I’m there and Julia’s really beginning as an actress and she’s Julia. She’s bubbly and she’s blah, blah, blah, and I come in. I want to act, you know, I want to be the actor, and we both are kind of like all over the place, you know?”
But Marshall had an idea that would add to their character’s chemistry and that was to have them portray complete opposites. Gere continued, “Garry says, ‘In this movie, one of you moves and one of you doesn’t and in this [scene], the girl moves, and the boy doesn’t,’ and that communicated a lot actually of how to approach the characters.”
Gere knew the acting tip would not only help him understand his character in Pretty Woman, but also characters in the future. “I mean, you can read from that how they think, how they feel, how they feel about themselves, how settled they are, how unsettled they are. It said a lot coming from Garry.”
Richard Gere’s chemistry with Julia Roberts was built with Garry Marshall’s help
Marshall, who sadly died in 2016, was a force in the entertainment industry and beloved by the actors he worked with. Gere remembered him following his passing, explaining how special he was.
“Garry of course was one of those truly important people one is blessed to meet in one’s lifetime,” Gere explained. “Besides being the pulse and life force of Pretty Woman… he was a super fine and decent man, husband and father who brought real joy and love and infectious good spirits to everything and everyone he crossed paths with.”
But Gere wasn’t the only one who remembered fond times with Marshall. Roberts shared her love for the director, who happened to be the one to introduce Roberts and Gere before Pretty Woman.
“To know Garry Marshall was to love him,” Roberts shared. “And I was luckier than most to have loved him for my entire adult life and luckier still to have been loved by him because his love was unconditional, inexhaustible and magical… There is no way to put into words, brief or expounded, how I feel about Garry. He held too big a place in my life and in my heart. He was a giant in every way.”
Although Marshall passed nearly 8 years ago, Gere won’t be forgetting the impact he left on him anytime soon. Marshall had a way of filling the screen with love and joy and made an impact in doing so.
