I remember when Richard Gere was a big-name actor and his films were important affairs that got wide theatrical releases. He was an A-lister.
What happened? Did he just get older and people lost interest?
Because I just got done looking over his filmography and almost none of his films from the last 10 years ring a bell with me. I remember when Arbitrage came out in 2012. That's his most recent film whose title I actually recognize.
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Interesting article, thanks.
I guess I'll need to check out some of these more recent indie films he's done. Sounds like some of them may be worth the time. I think the last movie I saw with him was 2009's Hachi: A Dog's Tale, which was a sweet and touching little movie.
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Unfaithful? Wow. That was quite a while back.
Just looking at his filmography, since Unfaithful's release, I can see that I also watched Chicago, Brooklyn's Finest, Hachi, and the somewhat underrated Amelia.
Of his more recent films, it looks like Norman and possibly Arbitrage are worth a look, so I think I'll check those out.
As you say, he doesn't seem too broken up about being ousted from mainstream Hollywood, so that's good. It really is a shame how political Hollywood is, and how they are only willing to accept a narrow range of thinking.
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He's choosing the roles that he wants rather then looking at making the big blockbusters really. He did that in the early part of his career and it nearly ruined his career, Pretty Woman saved him. I doubt he be going back down that route anytime soon. Also he's 69 years of age now, his leading man days are behind him.
He's nothing left to prove to anyone
Looking For Mr Goodbar (1977), Days Of Heaven (1978), Yanks (1979), American Gigolo (1980), An Officer and A Gentleman (1982), Cotton Club (1984), Internal Affairs (1990), Pretty Woman (1990), Rhapsody In August (1991), And the Band Played on (1993), Primal Fear (1996), Chicago (2002), The Hoax (2006), The Hunting Party (2007), I'm Not There (2007), Hachi:A Dog's Tale (2009), Arbitrage (2012), Norman (2016).
Not a bad career, some of his best performances are from his later day films. He's got some stinker's on his C.V as well. But he's at that point now that he's just enjoying his work then looking for a hit.
Hachi was a good, sweet movie that I don't think enough people have seen. Anyone who loves dogs should enjoy it.
As you say, overall he's had a good career. He's certainly a notable actor who has an assured place in film history.
Here's an interesting article on the subject:
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/04/richard-gere-hollywood-china
It seems that Gere's lower profile basically comes down producers not wanting to anger the Chinese now that they play such a big role in many modern films' box office results.
Agreed. He was in more than enough decent films as of late. Besides, have you seen the crap hollywood produces these days? It's utter shit. Remakes/reboots/sequels - that's hollywood in a nutshell. You want to see Pretty Woman 5? The answer is hopefully no.
shareWhy did Richard Gere's acting career fizzle out?
https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Richard-Geres-acting-career-fizzle-out/answer/Jon-Mixon-1
1. He’s 74 - While he’s always kept himself in great physical shape, he’s in the final third of his life and working on films can be taxing. Gere didn’t become famous until his early 30s and so he had a limited time to make a wide range of film.. Much of that time has passed.
2. His marriage to actor Carrie Lowell and their acrimonious divorce seems to have robbed him of time he needed to make films - Lowell was somewhat younger than Gere and apparently the age gap and Gere’s desire for a sedentary life resulted in the relationship collapsing. They divorced in 2013 after a lengthy separation and it was concluded in 2016.
3. Gere’s open support of Buddhism and especially of the Dali Lama and Tibet has not been received well in China - Since China is a major media market many celebrities have been going out of their way not to anger the government. Gere does not seem to care as his career was successful for many decades and he doesn’t need their money. However, a number of studios do and so he’s been less active than would be expected given his profile and past successes.
4. Gere’s choice of films has included several which have “stumbled” - Had Brooklyn’s Finest, The Hoax and The Benefactor been hits Gere likely would have been in bigger projects. They weren’t and he’s moved into smaller productions and arthouse offerings.
5. Gere’s profile has been lower by choice - Gere doesn’t do advertising or television. He’s largely avoided streaming projects and his film output is most related to the Hollywood market. Basically he’s not a prominent actor and so offers may not be be brought to him like they are to actors who are his peers.
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That's just it, he's kept working pretty steadily. But whereas he once was always in high-profile films that got wide releases, right around 2012 that ended and since then it's been nothing but small films that no one has heard of.
shareRumors of him enjoying Gerbils up his rear end probably didn't help
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