Who almost stole Richard Gere’s role?
Although the cast ended up being perfect, Gere had some competition with other actors who wanted the role, including Denzel Washington, John Travolta, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Christopher Reeve. After the auditions, the casting director chose Richard Gere. Still, Al Pacino almost got the role but claimed to be too busy.
A sweet and romantic note
When he was trying to figure out whether he wanted the role of Edward or Not, Gere was on the phone with a producer who offered the gig. At the time, Gere was talking to Julia, and after she passed him a written note that said, “Please Say Yes,” he gave in and accepted.
Making Julia laugh
The director did everything he could to get the perfect scene, including tickling Julia Roberts’ feet to make her laugh. In the scene where she’s watching “I Love Lucy,” he did this to make her laugh more naturally, and since the actress was very ticklish, it worked!
The bubble bath scene
During the bubble bath scene, Julia stuck her head underwater, and director Gary Marshall had everyone run off the set as a prank so Julia would be by herself when her head popped up again. Another fun fact: the bath had so many bubbles due to detergent, and they used so much that Julia’s hair dye started to bleed. They had to re-dye it the same day!
Body doubles on the poster
Editing photos was popular, even in the 1990s. On the “Pretty Woman” poster, they gave Gere black hair, and gave Julia Roberts an entirely new body. The body belongs to her double, Shelley Michelle. Julia’s head was just superimposed on it.
