‘I feel terrible’: Richard Gere rises from the dead to look tired and mad in the second TV show of his career

Richard Gere is a true entertainment industry icon. He’s been a star since the ‘70s and has appeared in more than 50 movies, including timeless classics like An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman, Primal Fear, and Chicago. While many actors work on both film and TV projects, Gere is one of those who has stuck to the big screen, until now.

In 2019, Gere played Max Finch in the British thriller miniseries MotherFatherSon – the actor’s first starring role in a TV series. Now, Gere is returning to TV in The Agency, the upcoming series from Paramount Plus and Showtime that also stars Michael Fassbender.

In July 2024, Chris McCarthy, the CEO of MTV Entertainment Studios and co-CEO of Paramount Global and Showtime, announced that Gere would be joining the cast. “Richard Gere is in a class of his own, adored by generations of fans worldwide for his exceptional ability to infuse depth and authenticity into every role he plays,” McCarthy stated.

Richard Gere loved the original series

The Agency, a spy thriller, is based on the French series Le Bureau des Légendes or The Bureau, which ran from 2015 to 2020. In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gere revealed that he was a fan of the show and he and his wife, Alejandra Silva, watched it together. Despite loving the show it’s based on, however, Gere said he wouldn’t be watching The Agency. “The one thing that I feel terrible is I probably can’t watch this, because I hate watching myself,” he said, a sentiment many in the entertainment industry share. However, he’s sure that his wife would watch it.

The Agency centers around a covert CIA agent codenamed Martian, portrayed by Fassbender, as he is instructed to withdraw from his undercover life and go back to London Station. The situation gets complicated when Martian is reunited with his love interest, whom he left before going undercover. Gere London Station chief and Martian’s boss, Bosko, a man with an interesting past who had also served as an undercover agent for eight years.

Gere admitted that even after working in the industry for decades, he felt nervous when he showed up on the first day of shooting The Agency. But it’s that nervous energy that keeps the actor doing what he loves. “I probably wouldn’t do it if it didn’t have that kind of energy to it,” he stated. Gere also talked about how he was impressed with the series’ sets, as it was far different from what he knew TV series sets to be decades ago, which he described as “wasn’t of the highest quality.” The Agency’s set, however, was comparable to something that would be used for movies.

Gere and Fassbender teased what can be expected from The Agency. The latter said there would be plenty of “nail-biting moments” and tension, while the former said “every episode is going to have surprises,” which he hopes is enough to set it apart from its French counterpart. As of writing, a premiere date has yet to be announced for The Agency, but it’s expected to start streaming sometime in late 2024.