90s Hollywood legend, 75, reveals why he stepped back from fame
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Richard Gere has reflected on his huge career in Hollywood, sharing that he chose to step back at a peak of his career – because he hated the attention. The 75-year-old has been a staple of our screens for decades, thanks to roles in legendary films Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, American Gigolo, Days of Heaven and Primal Fear.
![[Richard Gere and Julia Roberts smiling together in Pretty Woman]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_222480399-ba8e.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
He is currently leading a star-studded cast in the Agency, a new Paramount+ TV series also starring Jeffrey Wright, Michael Fassbender, Jodie Turner-Smith and Harriet Sansom Harris. Shedding light on his efforts in the spotlight, during an appearance on the Awards Chatter podcast, he recalled some of the roles he picked in the 80s – between 1982’s An Officer and a Gentleman, and Internal Affairs and Pretty Woman – that ‘didn’t quite click’.
![[SCENE FROM FILM, 'INTERNAL AFFAIRS' (1990). PICTURE SHOWS, RICHARD GERE AND ANDY GARCIA.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IP_679243-563a.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
However, speaking to Scott Feinberg for the Awards Chatter podcast, Richard explained that he had actually made a decision to step back from the spotlight, and pick other projects as he struggled with the attention he faced. ‘It was a subconscious choice on my part to step back, is what it was,’ he told the host. ‘I just had enough. I don’t really like all this attention. I reacted like a wild animal. “I don’t want to be looked at.”.
![[Richard Gere and Julia Roberts]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SEI_222480307-5b8e.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
‘I made some choices – not that I’m ashamed of it – but there were choices not to be in the big game. They were to be in a smaller game. ‘The motivation was the same,’ he insisted of his film choices during that time. ‘I’ve never done anything, like “Nah, f**k it, I’ll just take the money and walk through this.’.
![[Richard Gere Runaway Bride - 1999 Director: Garry Marshall Paramount USA Film Portrait Comedy Just Married (ou presque) Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ron Batzdorff/Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (5882992g)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_35652452-61c2-e1734038869844.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
