'Pretty Woman' Reunion: Richard Gere and Julia Roberts's Real-Life Meet Cute

Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’

Richard Gere didn’t want to be in Pretty Woman, but Julia Roberts changed his mind — with an adorable note. That story came to light during the 25th anniversary cast reunion on Today, the first part of which aired this morning. In a conversation with Matt Lauer, Pretty Woman co-stars Roberts and Gere talked about how they came onboard Garry Marshall’s blockbuster 1990 romantic comedy, about a prostitute and a wealthy businessman who fall in love. (Watch the segment here.)

Director Marshall, who also took part in the reunion, remembered being skeptical of then-21-year-old Roberts at first. “I didn’t know her from Adam or anybody!” he admitted. But, said Marshall, “she had that smile” — and she soon won the role of Vivian.

Gere, on the other hand, was a hard sell. On Today, the actor acknowledged that he turned down the role of Edward more than once. “Well, there wasn’t a part. There was nothing,” said Gere. “The joke was, it was a suit. You could put a suit on a goat and put it out there, and it would work.”

But his first encounter with Roberts changed everything. Marshall took the up-and-coming star to meet Gere at his home office, and when he left the two of them alone, the actors just clicked. “We loved each other immediately, so it was a nice thing. But to be honest I didn’t know if I was doing this movie yet,” Gere told Lauer. “She’s across from my desk, we’re getting to know each other, we’re flirty-flirty, nice-nice, and all of this is going on, and [Marshall] calls up and he’s kind of like, ‘How’s it going?’”

As Gere talked to Marshall, Roberts took a Post-it note from his desk and scribbled something on it. “And she turns it around and she pushes it to me and it said ‘Please say yes,’” Gere recalled. “It was so sweet. And I said [to Marshall], ‘I just said yes.’”

The rest is history, as Pretty Woman went on to become one of the most successful romantic comedies of all time. Elsewhere in the eight-minute segment, which also featured actors Laura San Giacomo and Hector Elizondo, the cast and director discussed the film’s darker original script and alternate casting choices. (Charles Grodin as Edward, anybody?) The second part of Today’s reunion special airs on Wednesday.

Watch a video about the ‘Pretty Woman’ that could’ve been: