It’s difficult to envision anyone other than Richard Gere playing Prince Charming to Julia Roberts’ damsel in distress in Pretty Woman, a modern-day Cinderella narrative. In the closing scene, Gere’s character Edward overcomes his fear of heights and climbs the fire escape to rescue Roberts’ Vivian, who is waiting at the top of her metaphorical tower.

What most people don’t realize is that Charles Grodin was a frontrunner for the role of Edward, and it was Roberts who persuaded Gere to star in the timeless masterpiece in which he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

Some mysteries were revealed when the actors of the classic 1990 romance comedy Pretty Woman reunited in 2015.

The picture, which starred 21-year-old Julia Roberts, who had already acted in Mystic Pizza and Steel Magnolias, and Richard Gere, an already-known sex symbol, was initially titled 3000 and was to have a gloomy storyline.

The original script portrayed the life of a drug-addicted prostitute, who is thrown out of the limousine onto her back on the street at the conclusion, with Edward throwing her $3,000 profits on her body before driving away.

The great producer and screenwriter Garry Marshall took over as director, and the picture was taken over by Disney, converting it into the fairy tale that generations have come to love.

Nonetheless, Gere was uninterested in starring in the picture and declined “a few times.”

“It wasn’t a part; it was nothing.” “It was a suit; you could put a suit on a goat and put it out there and it would work,” Gere, now 73, explained. “I just didn’t get it.”

Marshall, who was also interested in hiring Midnight Run and The Heartbreak Kid star Charles Grodin, was still hoping for Gere.

“The chemistry between Roberts and Gere was perfect,” Marshall explained.

The multiple award-winning Marshall, who died in 2016 at 81, directed classic films like Beaches, Runaway Bride (also with Gere and Roberts), Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, and Mother’s Day. He also created television shows such as Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy.

“The actors brought such lovability and charm that I didn’t think the audience would want a dark ending, and it didn’t hurt that I am from the school of happy endings,” Marshall explained.

And Pretty Woman relied on the pairing of Gere and Roberts–two extremely relatable actors–to make fans feel triumphant when the couple got their “happily ever after.”

Marshall explains how he brought the two together and left them alone in a room, hoping that their bond would lead to them appearing onscreen as co-stars.

Gere has no recollection of Marhsall ever being present.

“I was so mesmerized, I don’t remember Garry, I only remember the girl,” Gere said of his encounter with Roberts, 55. “I still wasn’t sure if I was going to do this movie.” We’re getting to know each other, and we’re flirting, flirting…lovely, nice…She comes across the desk, gets a piece of paper, writes something on it, turns it around, and pushes it to me…’Would you please say yes?'”

Gere claimed that Marshall was on the phone with him at the time, checking in on their progress.

“I said, ‘Yes!'” “It was so sweet!” Gere said.

We can’t fathom Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Pretty Woman! Those two are flawless in that film, and their chemistry is what makes it ageless. Gere is also dreamy when he climbs the fire escape at the conclusion of the movie and saves Robert’s Vivian! That’s a scene I’ll never tire of seeing!

What are your thoughts on Pretty Woman? Is there another actor who could play Edward?

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