Richard Gere Jokes He Had 'No Chemistry' with Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman: 'We Didn't Know If Anyone Would See' It

Richard Gere reflects on his whirlwind screen time with Julia Roberts!

Speaking at a masterclass at the 81st Venice Film Festival on Sunday, September 1, the actor, 75, joked that he had “no chemistry” with Roberts, 56, as they discussed their 1990 romantic comedy. A beautiful woman.

“I mean, there’s no chemistry,” Gere joked while watching the iconic scene of his character, wealthy businessman Edward, undressing Robert’s character Vivian at the piano during a master class, per The Hollywood Reporter.

“This actor and this actress obviously had no chemistry between them…” he continued. “I haven’t seen that in a long time. It’s a sexy scene.”

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Gere and Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’ (1990). Buena Vista/Getty Cast A beautiful woman: Where are they now?

While the couple’s romantic union in the film remains beautifully etched in the memory of fans decades later, Gere admitted during the masterclass that he believed his character was “criminally underserved”.

“It was actually a suit and a good haircut,” he commented.

Speaking about the reception of the film, which catapulted Gere and Roberts to Hollywood stardom, Gere said he could not have predicted how successful and influential the film would be all these years later.

“This is a movie, a very small movie with a wonderful director called Garry Marshall,” he explained. “But we had fun making this little movie. We didn’t know if anyone would ever watch this little movie. Nobody would ever pay attention to this little movie.”

Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva at the 81st Venice Film Festival on September 1.

Corbis via Getty

Richard Gere and wife Alejandra Silva have an elegant date at the amfAR Gala in Venice

The actor also said that the piano scene in the film was completely improvised and drawn from his own experiences in hotels.

“Garry said to me, ‘What are you doing late at night in a hotel?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m usually tied up during the flight,'” Gere recalled. “So I’m up all night and there’s usually a dance hall or a bar somewhere, so I’ll find a piano and I’ll play the piano” … So we just improvised this scene and … I just started playing something moody that was the inner life of this character.”

Gere’s appearance at the masterclass comes as he was also seen attending the amfAR Gala during the Venice International Film Festival with his wife Alejandra Silva on Sunday, September 1.

The veteran actor, who turned 75 on Saturday, August 31, looked dashing in a classic tuxedo with a black bow tie, while Silva, 41, wore a sheer halter neck dress adorned with large shimmering navy blue flowers.

The couple also attended Wolves premiere on the red carpet on Sunday when Gere’s 24-year-old son Homer joined them on the carpet.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education