Movie lovers have probably seen “Pretty Woman,” the better of the two films Richard Gere and Julia Roberts made together. It’s 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, as not only was Julia Roberts not the first choice for the role of Vivian, but some notable actors were also considered for the role of Edward.

One of the actors who competed for the role of Edward was Christopher Reeve, famous for playing “Superman.” Now, while he was a talented and often underrated actor, he couldn’t see him achieving the right level of chemistry with Julia Roberts. As it turns out, Christopher Reeve didn’t get the part because when he went to do a reading, Julia Roberts wasn’t available, so the casting director stepped in. Frustrated with the casting director’s lack of professionalism, Reeve ended up tearing up his script and walking out.

Another actor being considered for the role of Edward was acting legend Al Pacino. Like Christopher Reeve, Al Pacino did a full reading and was luckier to sit next to 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 better actors, he is too intense for Edward’s laid-back role and would have changed the entire relationship dynamic if Edward was 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 have been on the shortlist to take on the role. In the end, Richard Gere got it, and while he was already a star thanks to the blockbuster movies of the early ’80s, “Pretty Woman” definitely gave his career a welcome boost.

Before Julia Roberts was cast in the role of Vivian, there was an impressive list of actresses 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. Adding to this already impressively long list, Winnona Ryder, Jennifer Connely, and Drew Barrymore were all 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. Though it’s unclear why Meg Ryan turned down the role, it may have been that she had just starred in the rom-com “When Harry Met Sally…” and came up with a different challenge. As for Daryl Hannah, it is said that she felt the role was “demeaning to women” and she turned down the chance to star. While Molly Ringwald felt uncomfortable both with the script and with playing a prostitute, she admitted years later that she regretted turning down the role. While I think Meg Ryan would have made 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 but wrong actresses for the part.

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

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