Richard Gere’s Transformation for “Time Out of Mind”

While filming Time Out of Mind in New York, Richard Gere had an unexpected encounter. A tourist from Paris mistook him for a real homeless man. The 2014 film, featuring Gere alongside Kyra Sedgwick and Steve Buscemi, focused on a man struggling with mental illness and homelessness.

A Powerful Performance

In the film, Gere played a character forced onto the streets after losing his apartment. To prepare for the role, he dressed in tattered clothes and sat on a busy New York street. Thousands of people passed by without noticing him.

The Street Scene

Gere recalled his experience on set: “For over 40 minutes, no one made eye contact with me. I was in character.” He added, “In the busiest area of New York, if I had been Richard Gere, I wouldn’t have lasted 30 seconds.”

A Hidden Message

Gere reflected on how people filled in the blanks with assumptions based on his body language. “I wasn’t the movie star,” he explained. “People created an erroneous story from what they saw.”

The Director’s Insight

Oren Moverman, the film’s director, shared his thoughts: “No one gave him a cent or even recognized him. This proved the point: the homeless are everywhere, and we don’t see them.”

A Surprising Post

After filming wrapped, Gere used co-star Jenna Malone’s social media to share a surprising discovery. He posted: “Hi, Richard Gere here. I was shocked to find that someone posted a photo of me on a Facebook fan page as a homeless man in New York…”

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