A tourist from Paris came across a man retrieving a half-eaten burger from a trash can on the streets of New York. Unaware that it was Richard Gere, she kindly offered him assistance.
“It’s hard to believe something like this could occur,” said the distressed woman, who generously offered the millionaire in need some fresh food.
In 2014, Richard Gere was in New York shooting for Time Out of Mind, a drama film featuring Kyra Sedgwick and Steve Buscemi alongside him.
Now 74, Gere portrays George, a man struggling with mental illness who ends up living on the streets after being evicted from the apartment he was squatting in.
On the first day of filming, the director, Oren Moverman, instructed Gere to fully embrace the role of a homeless person for a scene. Gere donned ragged clothing and blended into the busy city streets among ordinary citizens.
At first, Gere was hesitant about filming in such a large city, but as he walked the streets of New York as a homeless man, holding an empty coffee cup and asking for change, very few people paid him any attention.
“I was out there for the very first shot, over 40 minutes – no one looked at me,” Gere recalled. “I was in character,” he added. “I was in one of the busiest areas of New York. If I had been Richard Gere there, I wouldn’t have lasted 30 seconds.”
However, Gere mentioned that it wasn’t because he was dressed or made up in a way that made him unrecognizable.
Gere explains, “I wasn’t the movie star, and people’s interpretations based on my body language and my presence on the street created a false narrative around me.”
Moverman elaborates, saying, “He didn’t receive a single penny. Nobody even acknowledged him. This highlighted the main issue: the homeless are everywhere, yet we fail to notice them.”
Undercover homeless
Sadly, someone captured a photo of him, and when it was shared on social media, it was claimed that the star of An Officer and a Gentleman was undercover to raise awareness about the homeless crisis. The post went viral, reaching nearly 2 million people at the time, and even mentioned that he was giving $100 to every homeless person he encountered.
To address the exaggerations and false claims, Gere – who doesn’t have his own social media accounts – utilized actor Jenna Malone’s Facebook to clarify the situation.
“Hi, Richard Gere here. I was completely taken aback to discover that last week someone shared a photo of me on a Facebook fan page portraying a homeless man on the streets of New York…”
He then clarifies that the message accompanying the post is “fictional” and that he was actually filming a movie, not participating in any kind of social experiment. He also states that he never handed out $100 bills.
Chilly pizza
Despite no one tossing any coins into his cup, one woman did pay attention.
While the Runaway Bride actress rummaged through a garbage bin close to Grand Central Station and retrieved a half-eaten burger, Karine Gombeau was exiting a nearby pizzeria with her husband Bruno and their teenage son.
The family, visiting from Paris, noticed the old “hobo” dressed in a tuque, loose-fitting pants, and a light jacket, holding onto the discarded burger.
She was completely unaware of the identity hidden beneath the dirty clothing.
Heartbroken by the unfortunate scene, Gombeau, then 42, approached him and offered some leftovers from an “enormous” pizza that she, her husband, and their 15-year-old son had ordered at an Italian restaurant, as she recounted to The New York Post.
Gere accepted the package and inquired, “What’s in the bag?”
“I tried to explain in English, but it came out half in French,” she recalls. “I said, ‘Je suis désolée [I am sorry], but the pizza is cold.’”
Gratefully accepting the gift, the millionaire responded, “Thank you so much. God bless you.”
The Parisian, who works in the travel sector, later expressed her sorrow at witnessing so many homeless individuals in the city.
“It makes me really sad to know we waste food while they have nothing. It truly touches my heart.”
Surprise!
Two days later, a staff member at the hotel where she was staying handed Gombeau a local newspaper.
She shares that she was astonished to find a photo of herself with the heartthrob featured inside.
“It was magical…It’s unbelievable, this story. It’s hard to imagine that something like this could occur,” she said excitedly.
“I think he’s very handsome, even at his age.” Offering her opinion, she added, “Pretty Woman wasn’t my favorite film, but I really enjoyed Chicago.”
In her conversation with the publication, she explained that the family, visiting the city for four days, had no idea they had stumbled upon a movie set.
However, there was one clear indication.
While her husband was capturing memories of Grand Central Station on video, Gombeau noted that “People came from all over the station” and insisted her “husband stop filming.”
She remarked, “People emerged from the subways. It was quite confusing.”
Please remember that Gere was not undercover as a homeless man for an experiment; he was simply playing a role!
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