Karen approached the man, handed him the box and told him she was sorry if it was cold. The man thanked Karen, saying he hoped God would bless her. Karen spent the rest of her day not thinking about seeing each other until the next morning.
While having breakfast at her hotel, an employee gave Karen a copy of the New York Post and was shocked to see it was herself in the paper. It turns out the homeless man was actually legendary Hollywood actor Richard Gere, who posed as homeless while looking for a role in his upcoming film Time Out of Mind.
Part of this research involved a social experiment where a film crew followed him to film his interactions with the townspeople. The crew captured footage of Gere’s exchange with Karen and provided photos of her to the media.
While surprised the homeless man was Gere, Karen smiled when asked by reporters later that day, saying she liked the actor’s work in the Chicago film.
On a more serious note, Karen says she was shocked at how much food the average person throws away while others struggle with basic necessities.
Gere later described his experience pretending to be homeless as intriguing. The actor believes that people often take what they have for granted and that we should be more compassionate towards others.
Overall, Gere said the experience taught him how difficult life for the poor can be.
The Hollywood icon says the worst part is how people walk past him without noticing or looking down on him. In the future, Gere hopes to look at the world through a deeper lens and try to examine the world in more complex colors.
