Richard Gere’s frustration attempts to avoid typecasting: “It’s very bizarre”
The fear of being typecast has plagued Hollywood actors for over a century, as many experience a sense of déjà vu when faced with new roles or auditions. Typecasting contradicts the very essence of acting—where performers are meant to be chameleons, stepping into diverse roles to uncover the shared emotional threads that connect us all.
At least that’s the ideal many actors aspire to, only to be locked in similar roles for much of their careers, especially following an instance of success. Actor Richard Gere was one such example, telling Rolling Stone in 1985 that he was confused by the narrow public perception he seemed to receive, comparing it to how Tupperware is sold.
Gere considered the typecasting of actors a function of marketing, similar to how companies need to boil products down to their best features or unique selling points in order to receive attention from consumers. “I think that somewhere along the line, the people who have to market and sell things — people who sell Tupperware and plastic — decided this was a way to sell whatever it is I represent,” he said. “And it’s got nothing to do with me. It’s very bizarre. They seem to have bent things in order to make me fit a certain kind of argument they have about me.”
A dozen films into his career, Gere had mostly worked as a leading man in romantic dramas like An Officer and a Gentleman, Days of Heaven, and Bloodbrothers but had also dipped a toe in the world of crime thrillers with his portrayals of gigolos and car thieves in American Gigolo and Breathless. But even in these latter grittier roles, he still carried many of the same qualities—an enigmatic Casanova involved in ill-fated love affairs.
It’s not a casting Gere has ever been able to shed, with prominent roles in later decades often following similar tropes. See the mystery-obsessed journalist in The Mothman Prophecies, the malpractice-haunted doctor in Nights in Rodanthe, or even the slick to the point of greasy lawyer Billy Flynn in Rob Marshall’s film adaptation of Chicago.
Of course, some actors go to great lengths to resist getting caught in a pattern of similar roles. Michael Keaton took a sharp turn at speed when he donned the cape and cowl for Tim Burton’s Batman after an early career defined by slapstick comedies, while Bryan Cranston took the leap from television sitcoms to gritty prestige drama when he was cast as Walter White in Breaking Bad.
In a career spanning decades, it’s nearly impossible for an actor to avoid echoes of their previous roles. Consider John Goodman as a bowling enthusiast in both The Flintstones and The Big Lebowski, or Ving Rhames sharing scenes with a character in a gimp suit in Pulp Fiction and The People Under the Stairs. John Candy appeared in multiple films with booby-trap-filled houses, while Robin Williams played a robot twice. Even Philip Baker Hall found himself running kids’ scholastic tournaments more than once. Brendan Fraser, during the 1990s, starred in two live-action adaptations of Jay Ward cartoons, both featuring a member of Monty Python in the ensemble. Déjà vu seems almost intrinsic to Hollywood.
Gere’s pattern of similarity is much more character-focused, obviously. But through years of steady work, he’s found a myriad of ways to explore the nooks and crannies of that particular kind of leading man role and found many different avenues for a captivating performance.
