He’s not actually Jewish – but Richard Gere told a Miami newspaper that he considers himself an “honorary Jew” ahead of the premiere of Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, in which he plays the Jewish titular character.
Speaking to the Miami New Times, Mr Gere said he considered himself “an honorary Jew” because he’s “a New Yorker”. Asked about whether, as someone not actually Jewish, he had been cautious playing the part, he said he had asked Joseph Cedar, the film’s Israeli director, that very question.
“I asked Joseph, ‘Why me?’ Why would he want me to do this,” Mr Gere told the New Times.
“There certainly are super-talented Jewish actors who would knock this out of the park. So why me? He said, ‘Because you're not Jewish. I want you to find something different.’ The more we talked about it, the more I was up to the challenge.”
