Why Christopher Reeve Stormed Out Of His Pretty Woman Audition

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Garry Marshall's 1990 film "Pretty Woman" was a monstrous success when it was first released. Made for a modest $14 million, it earned over $463 million at the global box office and further pushed star Julia Roberts into the Hollywood mainstream. Indeed, she received her second Academy Award nomination for her role as Vivian, the sex worker with a heart of gold. Roberts and her co-star, Richard Gere, shared a sparkling chemistry that Hollywood frequently tries to replicate, but rarely manages to.

As a brief reminder: The story of "Pretty Woman," distantly inspired by Alexandre Dumas fils' book "The Lady of the Camellias," follows Hollywood sex worker Vivian as she is hired by the unassuming and incredibly wealthy Edward (Gere). After a night of passion, Edward hires her for a whole week, insisting she join him for upscale activities like polo matches and operas. They even watch Verdi's "La Traviata," which is also inspired by "Camellias." Along the way, the two fall in love, although their feelings are complicated by Edward's wealth and her occupation. Is their love pure if Vivian was hired for sex? Is Edward the White Knight she's always dreamed of? Or just another John?

Part of the reason "Pretty Woman" is so frequently praised is because the two leads play the iffy material perfectly. Critics often describe how affable and dazzling Gere and Roberts are, convincing the audience that this is a bubbly romance and not an analysis of the realities of sex work. (For that, watch "Anora.") These days, it's hard to imagine anyone else in their roles.

Gere, however, wasn't the original choice for Edward. Director Marshall also auditioned several other striking hopefuls, including Christopher Reeve, who was fresh off "Switching Channels" at the time. Reeve wrote about his "Pretty Woman" audition in his autobiography "Still Me," noting how much he hated the experience. More specifically, he hated that he didn't get to audition with Roberts. Instead, he had to read with a non-professional, and that outraged him.

Roberts had, of course, already been cast when Marshall went on the hunt for her co-star. It seems that many qualified, talented leading men tried out for the part, including Daniel Day-Lewis, Kevin Kline, and Denzel Washington. Al Pacino even said, back in 2017, that he read for the part of Edward with Roberts in the room with him, but he still turned it down. Edward, it seems, wasn't a coveted role, as it was rejected by multiple high-profile actors, from Sylvester Stallone and Burt Reynolds, Sam Neill, and Charles Grodin. 

Reeve stormed out of his own audition when he felt that Marshall wasn't being very professional. Reeve took his craft seriously and wanted a chance to test his chemistry with Roberts, whom he knew he would (potentially) be starring with. But when he arrived, Roberts was nowhere to be seen, and Reeve was paired with the late, great Dianne Crittenden, the film's casting director. Crittenden may have had a prolific and celebrated career, but she wasn't much of an actor, at least not by Reeve's remembrance. Reeve didn't like having a non-professional acting opposite him and exploded at Marshall on the way out. As he put it:

"I had to play the scenes with the casting director, who kept her nose buried in the pages and read about as well as a reject from some community theater. Halfway through the second scene, anger, frustration, and humiliation got the better of me. I ripped the pages in half, dropped them on the floor, told Garry Marshall and the producers that they had no right to treat any actor this way, and stalked out of the room."

Reeve went on to other things, and Gere ultimately got his part. In a weird coincidence, Gere also landed two other notable roles that had been rejected by Reeve, as Reeve had previously auditioned for "American Gigolo" in 1980 and for "An Officer and a Gentleman" in 1982. Perhaps Gere, in a sneaky sort of way, was on the lookout.