Steam that wins cannot be changed. It took 44 years, but finally the protagonist-director couple of American Gigolo she composed herself. Richard Gere And Paul Schrader they got back together for Oh, Canada – Betrayalstaken from The betrayals by Russell Banks. History, inevitably, senile: a famous documentarian, terminally ill, decides to tell his story without discounts in front of the cameras of two of his former students. And many revelations – not exactly edifying – will also take his second wife (Uma Thurman), who attends the filming, by surprise… “I’ve made a career out of convincing people to confess the truth to me, now it’s my turn” he explains. In the flashbacks, the role is entrusted to the new star Jacob Elordi.
“My Father’s Death”
Why accept such a “funeral” role? «Paul and I had fun back in the day American Gigoloand we had been talking about some new project for some time” the 75-year-old American star tells us – calmly and thoughtfully – protagonist also streaming in the Paramount+ series The Agencyremake of the French Le Bureau. «And the story told by Banks in the book, almost a testament, arrived at the right time. My father had recently died, two months before his 101st birthday, and – since he lived with me – I had witnessed his mental state deteriorateas it progressively separates from the body. It was sad yet fascinating, I had the opportunity to process those emotions on set.”
homeless experiment
The protagonist is a successful man, just like her. What reflections did it inspire in you about celebrity? «How unimportant it is has always been clear to me and, if it hadn’t been important enough, I understood how evanescent it is during the filming of The invisible oneswhich he also produced, in 2014. It was about a homeless man trying to re-establish a relationship with his daughter and we did an experiment to see if we could shoot on the streets of New York. Usually it’s impossible, because they recognize me. It was enough that I was dressed like a homeless man for no one to pay attention to me, no one, for 45 minutes… If I had been in a tuxedo, at the premiere of a film, there would have been people who would have thrown themselves on me. Yet I was the same person. That was an opportunity for profound, emotional, spiritual awareness.”
Richard Gere (Getty Images).
Richard Gere and Buddhism
Yes, your Buddhist faith, your friendship with the Dalai Lama… What impact did it have on your existence? «I love the question “Has Buddhism helped you?”. Certain! As? I don’t get angry anymore! This is an important thing, although it is not the simplest thing. It’s challenging work. Not getting angry means having more ability to be generous, to understand another’s motivations. It is a fundamental thing to learn not to be immediately reactive in situations.”
Richard Gere with Uma Thurman in “Oh, Canada: The Betrayals”.
Invisible bonds
Does faith also influence you in the choice of roles? «Not consciously. There must be some kind of invisible connection with the project. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything that was simply a job. There must be some sort of mysterious drive that pushes me to explore a theme. Sometimes I don’t deny that flashes, doubts come, like: “Do I really want to work with these people? Will the situation lead to what is best?”
Unstoppable
In reality, however, Richard Gere is far from existential balance sheets and endgames: too busy taking care of his young children (Homer, with Carey Lowell, is now 25, but the two born from his marriage to the Spanish Alejandra Silva are five and two) and new projects. The next movie? Making Of by Edward Zwick, a romantic comedy in which he is married to Diane Keaton.
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