See Jon Bernthal Replace Richard Gere In American Gigolo Trailer
The first trailer for the new version of American Gigolo has dropped, which sees Jon Bernthal take on the role that once belonged to Richard Gere.
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Jon Bernthal has been surprising audiences with star-making turns in serious films and television series for many years. Working his way through pilot season and guest spots on several series in the early to mid-2000s, the American actor saw incredible success with his role on The Walking Dead as Shane Walsh. Traversing the waters of Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Taylor Sheridan’s Sicario and Wind River, and James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari, Bernthal has catapulted into stardom in recent years. Now, a trailer has dropped for his newest vehicle, a remake of the 1980 classic American Gigolo. You can see the trailer below:
Taking on the reins of American Gigolo from original star Richard Gere, Jon Bernthal is making an impact before the film’s release. The teaser trailer for American Gigolo was released today via Showtime, which features Bernthal as Julian Kaye, a former gigolo who was arrested for murder 15 years prior to the events of the series. Kaye is navigating the sex industry in Los Angeles while trying to investigate who framed him for murder all those years ago. He is also hoping to find his one-time love interest, played in the series by Gretchen Mol. The cast of American Gigolo also includes Rosie O’Donnell, Falling Waters‘ Lizzie Brochere, Gabriel LaBelle, and Ray Donovan’s Leland Orser.
American Gigolo is a fictional adaptation of the 1980 film of the same name. Set in the modern era, the series is developed by David Hollander of Ray Donovan fame. According to an interview with Entertainment Weekly, series executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer states that audiences should “Expect heightened mystery, danger, and desires as Jon Bernthal takes the movie’s iconic character on a contemporary, exhilarating journey.” No word yet on the release date of the series, but IMDB shows that the series will have an expected ten-episode run initially for its first season, with the hope that it will be picked up for more seasons after that.
When the original American Gigolo opened in theaters at the beginning of a new decade in the 1980s, crowds were almost instantly taken aback by Richard Gere’s performance. Risking it all by baring it all onscreen in one of his earliest roles, Gere took no prisoners when it came to solidifying his place in the film industry. The film marked one of the first times an American mainstream film showed full-frontal male nudity and gave Gere leading man status at a time when the film industry was in constant change. It was written and directed by Paul Schrader and grossed over $52 million at the box office. As reported by The Playlist, Schrader will not be involved in the Jon Bernthal-led series, and the producers of the show apparently didn’t want his involvement since he thought it might be a terrible idea to adapt the film to the smaller screen.
Despite Paul Schrader’s comments about the series, Jon Bernthal’s American Gigolo might be a solid addition to the actor’s resume. Currently starring in HBO Max’s, We Own This City, Bernthal is busy with multiple projects at the same time. He is in pre-production on Snow Ponies, starring alongside Evan Peters, as well as a rumored sequel to The Accountant, as he co-starred in the original with Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick.
