Richard Gere jokes he and Julia Roberts had 'no chemistry' in the 'tiny movie' 'Pretty Woman'

Richard Gere and Alejandra Silva arrive for the premiere of the film 'Wolfs' during the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 1, 2024. (Vianney Le Caer / Invision / AP)

Richard Gere had some thoughts reminiscing about his hit 1990 film “Pretty Woman.”

While appearing over the weekend at a masterclass during the 81st Venice Film Festival, Gere joke that he and costar Julia Roberts had “no chemistry” in a scene where his character, wealthy businessman Edward, undresses Robert’s character, Vivian.

“This actor and this actress obviously had no chemistry between them,” Gere said. “I haven’t seen that in a long time. That’s a sexy scene.”

Gere said he thought his role in the hit romantic comedy was “criminally underwritten.”

“It was basically a suit and a good haircut,” he said.

Gere said he didn’t know how successful the film would become.

“This is a movie, a very small movie with a wonderful director named Garry Marshall,” Gere explained. “But we were having fun making this little tiny movie. We didn’t know if anyone would ever see this little, tiny movie. No one would ever pay attention to this little, tiny movie.”

Big mistake, of course, as the romantic comedy went on to become one of the top box office films of its time.

The star also said the sexy piano scene was improvised.

“Garry said to me, ‘What do you do at late at night in a hotel?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m usually jet-lagged,’” the now 75-year-old actor recalled. “So, I’m up all night and usually there’s a ballroom somewhere, or a bar, and I’ll find a piano and I’ll play the piano’.”

“So we just basically improvised this scene,” he added. “I just started playing something moody that was this character’s interior life.”

Gere most recently played a businessman who discovers he fathered a child 19 years before in the film “Longing.”