Richard Gere was supposed to play one of the biggest action movie heroes of the 80s. The studio offered the Pretty Woman star a huge sum of money

July 11, 2024

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films and series
July 11, 2024, 02:49

Richard Gere turned down a role in a now iconic action film. Not even big money could make him change his mind.

Source: Pretty Woman, Garry Marshall, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, 1990

Many cult films could have looked very different, as the actors who starred in them were often not the filmmakers’ first choice. And this is no different with Die Hardstarring Bruce Willis.

However, the actor was by no means the first choice for the role of John McClane. It may surprise some, but Richard Gere, known for Pretty Womanwas seen as this characterHe was the one who was initially contacted and asked if he would like to star in this action film. However, the artist refused despite being offered a lot of money. Gere was not interested in the project. This information was revealed in the book “Casting Might-Have-Beens” by Eila Mell.

Gere declined, saying he had no interest in the project. Producer Joel Silver wanted Gere so badly that he increased the actor’s offered salary by a million dollars to get him to sign.

We cannot judge how Richard Gere would have fared as John McClane, but one cannot say that his refusal would have harmed the production, because Die Hard is already a cult film and it is hard to imagine anyone other than Bruce Willis in the lead roleHowever, before he could join the project, he had to get in line because there were apparently many other actors ahead of him.

To return to Richard Gere: It is not impossible that if he plays the role in Die Hardhis career could have taken a completely different turn.

Graduate in Journalism and Social Communication and Cultural Studies. She started at Gamepressure.com as one of the news editors in the film department. She currently leads the Gamepressure film and TV newsroom. She excels in the field of film and TV, both reality and fantasy topics. Follows industry trends, but prefers to watch lesser-known titles in her free time. Has a complicated relationship with popular titles, which is why she is not convinced by many of them until the hype around them dies down. Enjoys spending her evenings not only watching films, series, reading and playing video games, but also playing text RPGs, which she has been doing for several years.