Those who love movies have probably seen “Pretty Woman”, the better of the two films that Richard Gere and Julia Roberts have made together. It is a simple fairy tale story about a prostitute and a businessman who fall in love over the course of a week. But “Pretty Woman” could have been a very different movie, not only was Julia Roberts not the first choice for the role of Vivian, but also some notable actors also considered for the role of Edward.

One of the actors who was a contender for the role of Edward was Christopher Reeve famous for playing “Superman”. Now, although he was a talented and often underrated actor, I couldn’t see him achieving the right level of chemistry with Julia Roberts. It turned out that Christopher Reeve did not get the part, since when he went to do a reading, Julia Roberts was not available, so the director of the cast intervened. Frustrated by the casting director’s lack of professionalism, Reeve ended up breaking his script and abandoning himself.

Another actor who was being considered for the role of Edward was acting legend Al Pacino. Like Christopher Reeve, Al Pacino went to read and was luckier to sit across from Julia Roberts instead of the casting director. But Al Pacino ended up turning down the role and in the year “Pretty Woman” was released, Al Pacino would end up on the big screen in 3 movies “The Local Stigmatic”, “Dick Tracy” and “The Godfather: Part III”. . While I rate Al Pacino as one of the best actors, he is too intense for Edward’s laid-back role and would have changed the whole dynamic of the relationship if Edward were a more vocal and forceful character.

Christopher Reeve and Al Pacino weren’t the only actors considered for the role with John Travolta and Sylvester Stallone is also rumored to be on the cast roster to take on the role. In the end, Richard Gere got it, and while he was already a star thanks to the hit movies of the early ’80s, “Pretty Woman” definitely gave his career a very welcome boost.

Before Julia Roberts was cast in the role of Vivian, there was an impressive list of actresses who were being considered for the role. The list included Sandra Bullock, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kathleen Turner, Debra Winger, Kim Basinger, Sharon Stone, Heather Locklear, Kelly McGillis, Melanie Griffith, Joan Cusack, Emma Thompson, Carrie Fisher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Geena Davis. , Rosanna Arquette, Elisabeth Shue, Tatum O’Neal, Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda, Diane Lane and also Madonna. In addition to this already impressively long list, Winnona Ryder, Jennifer Connely, and Drew Barrymore were supposed to want to play the part, but were turned down because they were too young.

While that in itself is an impressive list of actresses, there were 3, Meg Ryan, Daryl Hannah, and Molly Ringwald, who were ahead of Julia Roberts for the role of Vivian. Although it’s unclear why Meg Ryan turned down the role, it may have been that she had just starred in the romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally …” and was in the mood for a different challenge. As for Daryl Hannah, it is said that she felt the role was “degrading to women” and turned down the opportunity to star. While Molly Ringwald was uncomfortable with both the script and the role of prostitute, years later she admitted to having regretted turning down the role. While I think Meg Ryan would have been a great Vivian and I could see her having great chemistry with Richard Gere, I can’t say the same for Daryl Hannah or Molly Ringwald, both talented actresses but wrong for the role.

But while “Pretty Woman” could have ended with different stars taking on those now famous roles, it could have been a completely different movie. Originally, the idea for “Pretty Woman” was a dark drama about a drug-addicted prostitute living in Los Angeles who wanted to earn money to go to Disneyland. As such, the element of drug addiction was part of the story between Vivian and Edward with part of the deal having her stay clean for a week. It turns out that the dark drama was transformed into a fairytale romantic comedy, but there were still elements left. The drug element is still there with Kit, Vivian’s roommate, who uses the rent money to buy drugs for her and the fact that Vivian never does drugs is very clear in an early bathroom scene.

So “Pretty Woman” as we know her could have been very different, in fact a completely different movie with a different story and different stars.