'American Gigolo' on Showtime: Where is the OG film's star Richard Gere now?
'American Gigolo' a renowned '80s movie has been adapted by Showtime and is all set to premiere soon. The series is going to showcase Jon Bernthal as Julian Kaye but it was not an easy search. The series was helmed by David Hollander. The official synopsis of the series reads, "Julian Kaye, 15 years after being arrested for murder and struggling to find his footing in the modern-day Los Angeles sex industry, seeks the truth about the frame that sent him to prison all those years ago and also hoping to reconnect with his one true love, Michelle."
After a casting search that took place in early 2020, Jon Bernthal was cast as the lead alongside the pilot order announcement in March 2020. In November 2020, Gretchen Mol was cast in a lead role, with Rosie O'Donnell added in a starring role the following month. Lizzie Brocheré, Gabriel LaBelle, and Leland Orser joined the main cast in January 2021. On June 15, 2021, it was announced that Showtime had given the project a 10-episode series order, with Hollander set as showrunner. On April 23, 2022, it was announced that Hollander left the project after an on-set misconduct investigation. Something similar happened while the casting of Richard Gere for the movie as well, read more to find out about Gere and his where about!
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During the search for Julian Kaye for the movie, John Travolta was initially attached to the lead role, with his casting announced by the Los Angeles Times in January 1978. Travolta was provided a wardrobe by Giorgio Armani and appeared in a photo spread for the trade publication Variety announcing his participation. The following year, Travolta dropped out of the production to deal with his mother's death and his father's illness. In Travolta's absence, Barry Diller of Paramount Pictures offered the part of Julian Kay to Christopher Reeve, but Reeve turned down the million-dollar offer. Chevy Chase was also offered the role but declined. Schrader offered the part to his first choice, Richard Gere, who accepted. Gere was cast two weeks before the shooting began.
Richard Gere began appearing in Hollywood films in the mid-1970s. Originally cast in a starring role in 'The Lords of Flatbush' (1974), he was replaced after fighting with his co-star Sylvester Stallone. The crime drama 'American Gigolo' (1980) significantly boosted his profile.It was a neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. The film is widely credited with establishing the Giorgio Armani brand in Hollywood because the Italian designer's clothes are featured prominently in Julian Kaye's wardrobe. When Gere replaced Travolta as Julian, the designer's team had to make new clothing for him as Travolta is 6 ft 2 in tall, although just a few inches taller than Gere. However, American Gigolo did open doors for Gere because post the movie he got offers for other big banner movies which led Gere's ascent to stardom, grossing almost $130 million and winning two Academy Awards out of six nominations.
In recent years Gere has been not seen doing many movies and is rather seen focusing on his family as the actor and his wife, Alejandra Silva, recently welcomed their second child together. Their first son, Alexander, was born in February 2019. Gere and Silva discreetly married in April 2018 after dating for four years. Gere was previously married to Cindy Crawford from 1991-1995 and to Carey Lowell from 2002-2016. Gere and Lowell share a 20-year-old son, Homer while Silva was previously married to Govind Friedland and they share a son, Albert.
In 2017 voiced his opinion as he has always participated in social activism and politics. Gere also made a notable departure from his traditional screen persona with Joseph Cedar's political drama 'Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer' (2016). The film saw him portray Norman Oppenheimer, a small-time Jewish fixer. Gere himself described the character as an embodiment of the "sides of us we know are annoying and needy."
According to Showbiz Cheatsheet, "Richard Gere doesn’t act much these days but he still has more than enough cash from his heyday to live in an impressive estate in upstate New York. After residing there for over 30 years, he decided to sell the property. Eventually, the buyer was revealed to be noted showrunner Ryan Murphy. The Glee producer is far from the only notable figure to move to Westchester County recently."
The series, 'American Gigolo' featuring Jon Bernthal will premiere on September 9, 2022, only on Showtime.
'American Gigolo' releases on Friday, September 9, 2022, only on Showtime.