Ah, to be as squeaky-clean and even-tempered as actor Richard Gere.
When we realized that James Lipton's liveblog of the Oscars and the 10-year anniversary of the Best Picture win by “Chicago” were happening the same year (the cast will reunite in Sunday's broadcast), we decided to take a look back at Lipton's various “Inside the Actors Studio” run-ins with the stars of the movie musical. Right away, we stumbled on Gere's episode from May 2002, and something he said struck us as a bit odd.
When Lipton famously asked Gere, “What's your favorite curse word?” as part of his Proustian line of questioning, the actor's response was short, to the point, and followed by no elaboration.
“I don't curse,” he replied. Um, what?
While we assumed Gere's short-and-sweet response was a joke, the actor does have a reputation for being calm, well-mannered, and, well, a Buddhist. So, we took Gere to task and contacted his rep, Alan Nierob, who confirmed our suspicions: “He was absolutely kidding!”
As evidenced by this clip, Gere does, in fact, swear. Enjoy the profanity (and Irish accent).
The Oscars air live Sunday, February 24, at 7 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT on ABC.
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