Richard Gere said “no” to ‘Pretty Woman’ but Julia Roberts used three words to win him over
It’s hard to imagine anyone but Richard Gere playing Prince Charming to Julia Robert’s damsel in distress in the modern-day Cinderella story, Pretty Woman. Gere melted hearts when in the final scene, his character Edward conquers his fear of heights and climbs the fire escape to rescue Roberts’ Vivian, who’s waiting at the top of her proverbial tower.
What most people don’t know is that Charles Grodin was a frontrunner for playing Edward, and it was Roberts who convinced Gere to play the role in the timeless classic that he wasn’t sure he wanted to star.
Keep reading to find out what Roberts did!
When the cast of the classic 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman reunited in 2015, some secrets were spilled.
The film, starring a 21-year-old Julia Roberts, who at the time had appeared in Mystic Pizza and Steel Magnolias, and Richard Gere, an already established sex symbol, was originally intended to have a dark storyline, called 3000.
The original script followed the life of drug addicted prostitute, who at the end is tossed out of the limousine, onto her back on the street, with Edward throwing her $3,000 in earnings on her body before driving away.
Then Garry Marshall, the legendary producer and screenwriter, stepped in as director, and it was taken over by Disney, transforming the film into the fairy tale that generations still love.
Still, Gere wasn’t interested in starring in the film and said no, “a few times.”
“It wasn’t a part, it was just nothing. It was a suit, you can put a suit on a goat and put it out there, and it would work,” said Gere, who’s now 73. “I didn’t get it.”
Marshall, who was also interested in casting actor Charles Grodin–known for Midnight Run and The Heartbreak Kid–was still hoping for Gere.