Richard Gere spotted old and unrecognizable – woman thinks he’s homeless, gives star leftovers

A tourist visiting from Paris stumbled across a man pulling a partially eaten burger from a trash can on the streets of New York. Not realizing it was Richard Gere, she offered him some help.

“It’s unimaginable that something like this could happen,” said the heartbroken woman, who thoughtfully offered the millionaire beggar some fresh food.

Keep reading to learn why the Pretty Woman star was confused for a homeless man!

In 2014, Richard Gere was in New York filming Time Out of Mind, a drama movie where he stars alongside Kyra Sedgwick and Steve Buscemi.

Gere, now 74, plays George, a man with mental illness who’s forced to live on the streets after he’s kicked out of the apartment he was previously squatting.On the first day of shooting the film, the star was asked by the director, Oren Moverman, to “be” homeless to film a scene. Gere was dressed in rags and placed on the bustling city streets among everyday people.

Initially, Gere had some reservations about filming in a big city but when he walked the streets of New York City as a homeless man, with an empty coffee cup begging for change, few people noticed.

“I was out there for the very first shot, 40 minutes plus – no one made eye contact with me,” Gere said. “I was in character,” he said. “I was in one of the busiest places in New York. If I had been Richard Gere there, I wouldn’t have lasted 30 seconds.”