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Richard Gere grew up as an athlete, going to university on a gymnastics scholarship where he started off studying philosophy. It might not have seemed like he was on the path to becoming one of the most beloved actors of his generation. He left college after two years, however, and started pursuing subjects he was a little more passionate about, like appearing on the stage.
Richard Gere got his acting start in local theater productions in the 1960s before moving on to Broadway in the 1970s. He also started acting professionally on the screen in the 1970s and has managed to keep himself an in-demand actor ever since. He has consistently given some fantastic performances in a wide variety of genres, and his best range from crime dramas to musicals to romances.
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10 Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009)
As Parker Wilson
Based on a true story, Hachi: A Dog's Tale tells of Hachiko, an Akita dog in Japan, and his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Professor Parker. After Hachiko is adopted by Parker, he begins to wait for him daily at the train station. Even after a tragic event prevents Parker from returning, Hachiko maintains in wait for years, becoming a symbol of loyalty and love to those who live in the town.
Director Lasse Hallström
Release Date June 13, 2009
Writers Stephen P. Lindsey , Kaneto Shindō
Runtime 93 minutes
Some moviegoers avoid movies that center on pets for a very good reason. They tend to be tearjerkers in which the animal ends up in danger, ill, or worse. That’s the basis for the website Doesthedogdie.com, which has evolved into providing trigger warnings for all kinds of subject matter in movies. Movies centering on pets can be heartwarming dramas though that allow the actors a new style of story to tell, which is why Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is one of Richard Gere’s best movies.
Gere stars as a man who finds an abandoned dog on a train platform and brings the dog home to his family. The movie itself chronicles their experiences with Hachi. The movie speaks to the unbreakable bond between people and the animals they love. It’s a remake of the 1987 Japanese movie Hachiko, which is arguably better of the two, but Gere makes a worthwhile adaptation.
A bronze statue of Hachiko stands at the train depot at Woonsocket Depot Square, Woonsocket, Rhode Island where the movie was filmed.
9 Primal Fear (1996)
As Martin Hail
In Chicago, the stabbing death of a priest shocks the public and attracts the attention of the local media. An opportunistic lawyer in search of fame offers to defend the main suspect in the crime, a hapless teenager with mental problems.
Director Gregory Hoblit
Release Date April 1, 1996
Runtime 130 Minutes
Courtroom dramas are often relegated to television with each case getting an episode of a TV series because it allows for a case-of-the-week format while slowly fleshing out the characters. A movie has a longer time frame to work a case, but not always as much time to flesh out the characters for the audience. That makes legal dramas more about the dramatic courtroom scenes than it does character acting, usually.
Richard Gere does a great job at creating those courtroom scenes as the lawyer Martin Hall who is defending an altar boy who is suspected of murdering a Catholic Bishop in a particularly grisly case. The movie can be overly dramatic by today’s standards, but Gere is great in the role. Even better is Edward Norton, who makes his feature film debut in Primal Fear and won a Golden Globe for the role.
8 American Gigolo (1980)
As Julian Kaye
American Gigolo is a 1980 crime drama directed by Paul Schrader, featuring Richard Gere as Julian Kaye, a high-class male escort in Los Angeles. The film explores themes of luxury, loneliness, and vulnerability, as Julian becomes entangled in a murder investigation. Co-starring Lauren Hutton, American Gigolo delves into the complexities of personal relationships and societal expectations amidst a backdrop of eroticism and criminal intrigue.
Director Paul Schrader
Release Date February 8, 1980
Writers Paul Schrader
Runtime 117 Minutes
...setting him on his path to becoming a bonafide movie star and one of Hollywood’s most beloved leading men of the 1990s.
American Gigolo is something like the flip side of one of Gere’s best-known movies, Pretty Woman. While in the latter he plays a man who falls in love with a sex worker, here, he plays one himself. Pretty Woman portrays a fairy tale, while this movie goes for the darker side of the industry as Gere plays a man who ends up in the middle of a murder investigation.
American Gigolo is a neo-noir, being both darker and racier than the films that defined the noir genre decades earlier. It was also recognized as one of Gere’s best films very early in his career, setting him on his path to becoming a bonafide movie star and one of Hollywood’s most beloved leading men of the 1990s.
The movie was revived in a manner of speaking when studios were interested in developing a television series based on the same concept. Jon Bernthal starred in the role Gere originally portrayed. The series ran for eight episodes in 2022.
7 I’m Not There (2007)
As Billy
An innovative biographical film that reimagines the life of Bob Dylan through six distinct characters, each symbolizing a different phase of his career and personality. Portrayed by a diverse cast including Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, and Heath Ledger, these characters navigate through the various transformations of Dylan's life—from his early days as a folk singer to his electric phase and beyond.
Release Date October 1, 2007
Runtime 135 minutes
There are a lot of biopics of musicians, so it can be hard to make them stand out. All of the successful ones have to have a hook. For Walk the Line, the focus was on Johnny Cash and June Carter’s relationship, while for Rocketman, the movie utilized fantasy sequences instead of staying rooted in reality. I’m Not There takes the story of Bob Dylan’s life and has different actors play the musician during different eras of his career. Each actor takes on a different persona that coincides with Dylan’s work.
Gere plays the “Billy the Kid” persona. Joining him as other versions of Dylan are Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, and Marcus Carl Franklin. While Blanchett garnered the most praise for her work in the movie (and earned a Golden Globe), everyone in the ensemble helped to flesh out the nonlinear story being told to the audience.
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6 Arbitrage (2012)
As Robert Miller
Arbitrage, directed by Nicholas Jarecki, follows a troubled hedge fund magnate navigating personal and professional crises. As he urgently seeks to sell his trading empire, he makes a critical mistake that compels him to seek assistance from an unexpected ally. Released in 2012, the film explores themes of greed and deception.
Director Nicholas Jarecki
Release Date September 14, 2012
Runtime 100 minutes
Though Gere is known for his romantic comedies, he’s actually appeared in a number of crime dramas. Many of those crime dramas, like Abritrage, are some of the best of his career.
Gere stars as a hedge fund manager who works with his daughter, is having an affair with a younger woman, and has been covering his tracks to avoid being arrested for fraud. The movie sees his world falling apart as he is responsible for the death of his mistress, his daughter discovers his fraud, and his wife discovers his infidelity. The tension of the movie is just how he can keep himself afloat with everything going on around him.
Gere’s performance was nearly universally praised by critics, even if the character he plays is very unlikable. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for his work in the movie.
5 And The Band Played On (1993)
As The Choreographer
Gere hasn’t appeared in very many television projects in his career. And The Band Played On is one of the earliest. It was made for HBO, but eventually aired on NBC and ABC as well. The docudrama was inspired by the non-fiction book published in 1987, And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts. Filmmakers had the herculean task of distilling 600+ pages of facts and figures into a dramatic story that an audience could follow.
The movie follows Matthew Modine as epidemiologist Don Francis, who becomes one of the earliest HIV/AIDS researchers. As Francis spends the 1980s researching the virus, he also becomes embedded in the LGBTQ+ community, trying to communicate with gay activists about his findings. The movie featured a huge ensemble cast during Francis’s journey, and Gere’s role in the grand scheme of the movie isn’t a huge one. He plays a character known only as the Choreographer, a man who works in the San Francisco theater scene and learns he has AIDS.
Gere proves, however, that when a movie involves this many cast members, every member of the ensemble is vital. Modine, Gere, Alan Alda, Ian McKellan, Swoosie Kurtz, and Lily Tomlin were all nominated for Emmys for their work in the movie.
And The Band Played On won Outstanding TV Movie at the GLAAD Media Awards.
4 An Officer And A Gentleman (1982)
As Zack Mayo
A young man enlists in the U.S. Navy, where he enters the demanding Aviation Officer Candidate School to become a pilot. With a tough sergeant pushing him to his limits, the cadet strives to reach his potential and wins the heart of a local factory worker during his tumultuous training.
Director Taylor Hackford
Release Date July 28, 1982
Writers Douglas Day Stewart
Runtime 124 minutes
Richard Gere is known for romance - especially during the 1980s and ‘90s in his career. Though he’s played plenty of roles that aren’t romantic, it would be impossible for multiple romances not to appear among his best movies. An Office And A Gentleman is a classic romance.
In fact, when the movie premiered in 1982, it really felt like a relic of an earlier era of movie-making. The movie, at its heart, is about a young man (Gere) finding balance in his life between his career and his personal life. His career just happens to be training to be a Navy pilot under someone who he cannot seem to see eye-to-eye with. His personal life involves falling in love with a woman who works in a factory. The two halves of his life just don’t seem to mesh.
Gere turned out a great leading man performance in the movie that earned him a Golden Globe nomination. A remake of An Officer And A Gentleman is in development.
Gere’s costar Debra Winger was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the movie. Louis Gosset Jr. also won an Oscar for his role.
3 Pretty Woman (1990)
As Edward Lewis
Directed by Gary Marshall, Pretty Woman stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere as Vivian Ward and Edward Lewis. Lewis is a wealthy New York businessman who hires Hollywood sex worker Ward to accompany him during his stay in Los Angeles. Initially wary of each other, the couple's relationship grows steadily deeper over Lewis' stay, causing Ward to begin to rethink her career path.
Release Date March 23, 1990
Writers J.F. Lawton
Runtime 119 minutes
As time has marched on, there are certainly much more critical views of Pretty Woman than there initially were in 1990. Most critics and movie-goers were won over by the charming chemistry of Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in the leading roles.
Gere stars as a lonely businessman who hires a sex worker he meets while he’s in town. He pays her to stay with him for the week, but as he takes her out to dinner and the opera and she meets those in his world, he realizes there’s more to her than meets the eye. The two fall for one another in what has been seen by many as a modern Cinderella story.
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While the original ending pitched for the movie was much darker, giving the movie a happy ending for the main characters made it endearing for the audience. While most of the big pop culture moments remembered in the movie belong to Julia Roberts, there’s no denying that her chemistry with Gere is what makes the movie work.
Julia Roberts was nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA for Pretty Woman . She won a Golden Globe. Gere was also nominated for a Golden Globe for the role.
2 Days Of Heaven (1978)
As Bill
Days of Heaven is a 1978 drama film directed by Terrence Malick. The story follows Bill (Richard Gere) and Abby (Brooke Adams) as they travel to the Texas Panhandle to work for a wealthy farmer. With cinematography by Néstor Almendros, the film is noted for its visual beauty and contemplative narrative, exploring themes of love, jealousy, and the human connection to nature.
Director Terrence Malick
Release Date September 13, 1978
Writers Terrence Malick
Runtime 94 minutes
When Days of Heaven first landed in theaters in 1978, it wasn’t a commercial hit. It was more like today’s independent films, finding love from critics for the way it was shot and the beauty of the scenery. Since then, however, praise for it has only grown. It was inducted into the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2007.
The movie follows a man (Gere) and woman (Brooke Adams) who work for a farmer (Sam Shephard) in Texas. The man convinces the woman to enter into a fraudulent marriage with the farmer, whose health is ailing, in hopes of the two of them being able to take over ownership of the property when he inevitably dies. Of course, the farmer’s health remains steady, foiling their plans.
While much of the movie’s story is told through a more Biblical lens as the man’s little sister tells his story, citing the devil’s influence on her brother, the performances and the look of the movie are what is truly to be praised.
Days of Heaven was nominated for two Golden Globes and four Oscars, winning an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
1 Chicago (2002)
As Billy Flynn
Chicago is a musical crime film directed by Rob Marshall, set in 1920s Chicago. It centers on Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) and Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), two women who find themselves on trial for murder. Both aspiring performers, they vie for the attention of a high-profile lawyer, Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), in their quest for fame and freedom. The film examines themes of celebrity, crime, and media influence.
Director Rob Marshall
Release Date December 10, 2002
Writers Bill Condon , Fred Ebb , Bob Fosse
Runtime 113 Minutes
Chicago is Richard Gere’s best movie, and some of his best work as a whole.
Richard Gere has not been in very many musicals in his career. Though he got his start in theater, he’s not known as a song-and-dance man like Hugh Jackman is (in addition to his legacy as Wolverine). Despite that, Chicago is Richard Gere’s best movie, and some of his best work as a whole.
The movie is inspired by the Broadway musical. It follows women accused of murdering (or attempting to murder) the men in their lives. Gere plays a lawyer who represents some of the characters in court, a man who believes in using the old “Razzle Dazzle” to distract people from the truth. Flynn is a character who is all about putting on a show for whomever is watching, making it the perfect role for an experienced actor who is accomplished in both comedy and drama.
Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Queen Latifah could be accused of stealing scenes right out from under Gere, but he holds his own against the other performers. His musical sequence “We Both Reached For The Gun” in which he is the puppeteer to Zellweger’s performance is an astonishing piece of choreography and spectacle.
Chicago was nominated for 13 Oscars, winning six of them. It was also nominated for eight Golden Globes, winning three of them, including one for Richard Gere.
English (US) ·