Show Thanks to “Yanks- ”- and a String of Hit Roles Richard Cere Is Shooting for Superstardom - ?Jp Gere appears determined to keep his own life simple “Money is not an evil in itself it opens up a lot of possibilities” he says “And why should I want to remain where I was at 19? But I don't intend to get into this over my head” “This" far Gere means more than just money it's al the notoriety that goes with being a recognized name and face He doesn't rekh being intetviewed convinced that meeting the press means compromis-ln- g his professional Integrity and divulging fads about his private He His with actress Penelope Milford recently ended and Gere offers no details about his current love He The more people know about you the less believable are the characters you play on screen" he explains “We've all been taught by the media to feel a certain way about stars — a way that really has very little resemblance to real life" Although Gere views stardom as a frightening gamble he realizes that big e puD also means he’ll be able to demand more control over the films he's in "At first I just wanted to work" he explains "but now I feel responsible for the message of the movie the motives of the filmmakers The fact is people might be coming to see the film because my name's on it and that's a major responsfoility" What does the future hold for Gere? In February Paramount will release American Gigolo in which Gere plays a high-clagigolo who is framed for murder He was up against John Travolta for the part but when Travolta pulled out for a number of personal reasons Gere who was director Paul Schrader's choice from the beginning got the role Schrader says he wanted Gere because: “Richard has a special quality He has both the traditional good looks of a matinee idol like Gable and an impeccable acting background I think Gere's the new boy in the block — he’s hot stuff right now" Although he’s considering other film options at this point Gere is planning to get back on stage He likes working in the theater because he says he gets energy from an audience This month hell open on Broadway in Bent a play set in Hitler's Germany Gere plays a homosexual trying to survive in a Nazi concentration camp While researching his role Gere learned that concentration camp prisoners were often required to crop their hair short so Gere Intends to shave his head for the performance After Bent Gere is unsure what he'll be doing but the most important thing for him seems to be satisfaction with the parts he plays “lU be doing films for a long time” he says "and I want to be happy with myself proud of what I've done” So far everything he's done has ran ULi brought him closer to that goal five-ye- d A serious musician Cere decided to pursue acting instead In Yanks he stars as on American Cl In love with an Englishwoman played by newcomer Lisa seen at right Etch-hor- n By Clarke Taylor the name Richard Gere doesn't ring Ifany bells yet just wait This darkly handsome young actor Is currently earning high praise for his performance in Yanks a story that revolves around the American troops temporarily stationed in England before the Normandy invasion Gere's portrayal of Matt an small-tow- n boy who fab In love with an English girl has rapidly accelerated his rise up the celebrity scale But Gere refuses to be typecast as a Hollywood star “I'm a kind of star" is die furthest hell go in describing his status and the stubble on his angular chin and his disheveled thick brown of his reluctance to be groomed for the celebrity role However his obvious talent his intelligence and his raw good looks and silver-scree-n sexiness have earned him a reputation already he's being touted as a performer of die same caUber as Brando Pacino and De Niro And bkc those actors Gere — Intent on being taken seriously — Is wary of fame T don't want to mention any names" he says "but some people's fives revolve around being 'movie stars' — and that's empty People who have led their lives this way meet tragic ends and I've no Intention of meeting a tragic end” Gere first came to the attention of moviegoers when he played Tony the street-smahustler who terrorizes Diane Keaton in Looking for Mr Goodbar A number of critics called his performance the best thing In the movie and when Days of Heaven a visual stunner In which Gere played an itinerant worker was released last fall the applause grew louder Next in Bbodbroti ten Gere hair-spea- rt Taylor Ji a star wot her who regularly reports on the celebrity scene Clark played a young construction worker in search of life outside the Italian neighborhood in which he's been raised Then he landed the role in Yanks and was off to England for seven grueling months of shooting Gere cab the emotionally charged characters he plays on screen "doers rather than thinkers people who act They’re not the brightest people in the world and they get themselves into eccentric situations” And although he's nervous about divulging information about his personal He he does admit that "the central things In these characters are central to me I've played these kinds of people so often I've played them less in my own He I've exonrized a lot of demons” Although the past two years have been dizzying Gere's success didn't happen Bom 29 years ago in ovdmight of five Philadelphia the second-oldechildren Gere was raised on a farm outside of Syracuse NY His father now seb Insurance and his mother is a housewife and Gere credits his boyhood — from Boy Scouts to marching bands — for keeping him in touch with reality during his rise to stardom “1 was brought up with a certain point of view toward people that totally colors the way I deal with this celebrity thing I’m not coming from hunger nor do I have the psychoses of the rich I don't have to bis proving myself alt the st time" After spending two years at the University of Massachusetts where he studied philosophy Gere dropped out at the age of 19 "As a kick" his accompanied a friend to an audition at the prestigious but Gere Provincetown Playhouse wound up with the part instead of his friend Fur $2870 a week Gere acted in six plays and when the summer ended he joined the Seattle Repertory Theater for a season and then left to start a band "At that point in my life” he recalls "I had to decide whether I wanted to be the greatest rock star or die greatest actor And although Instinctively I loved acting I didn't think it was something for a man to do" Gere who had picked up the piano guitar and sitar joined a youp of musicians on an old farm in Vermont But the communal life didn't work the group scattered and Gere headed for New York And although he did spend a brief period working in a Greenwich Village restaurant — “I washed dishes so I wouldn't be seen out front!" -- Gere was rarely without a theater job In 1971 he made his New York stage debut In a rock opera called Soon f on to Broadway where he He went Danny Zuko in Grease (the by John Travolta) Later he auditioned for — and got — his first two cameo parts In films in Report to the Commissioner he played a pimp and In Baby Blue Marine he briefly apseras a peared viceman “1 had unresolved feelings about being in films” he now recab "These were small roles that wouldn’t get me much attention but they would enable me to feel things out” His first real break In films came when he was cast in director Terence Ma lick's Days of Heaven "I knew then I was making a film that would gain me attention” he says typically confident in manner And although Looking for Mr Goodbar On which he was cast while shooting Ma lick's film) was released to the public first the critical attention that groomed Richard for stardom came with Mallck's poetic work Although he's now In a position to demand a peat deal of money for his talent role played shell-shocke- d fa box-offic- ss FAMILY WEEKLY NovamDar 4 197S 23 |