From leading man to humanitarian: Richard Gere at 70

Born August 31, 1949 in Philadelphia, Richard Gere began his career as an actor on smaller theater stages. Three years after he first stood in front of a film camera, his cinematic breakthrough came with "Days of Heaven," Terrence Malick's 1978 period love story set in Texas at the turn of the century. Starring alongside Brooke Adams in the role of a laborer, Gere showcased his charismatic charm.

Two years later, Richard Gere starred in the Paul Schrader thriller "American Gigolo." His role as a high-priced male escort catapulted him into Hollywood's acting A-list — and established his image as a sex symbol. From then on, Gere struggled to live down his handsome yet somewhat shallow image.

His next film partially solidified this image. In the romance "An Officer and Gentleman" (1982) by Taylor Hackford, Gere portrayed a young soldier going through a harsh military training. While he seemed a little out of place in some more brutal scenes, his good looks helped when seducing co-star Debra Winger. The Oscar-winning film was ultimately a boon for Gere's career.

Gere's next film in 1983 saw the actor play again on his sex symbol image. In the remake of Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 classic "Breathless," Gere portrays a cocky drifter given to free-ranging flings. The "shooting style lingers forever on Gere's pumping, preening narcissism, which leaves you in no doubt that the true romance is not between boy and girl, but between Gere and camera," wrote "Time Out."

In the following years, Richard Gere aimed to take on a greater variety of roles — without completely disavowing his renown as Hollywood's pretty boy. Starring the prohibition-era gangster movie "The Cotton Club" by acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola was the perfect career move: Gere plays a charming jazz trumpeter who courts doom after falling for a mobster's girlfriend.

Richard Gere's following film also broadened his acting range — but might have stretched it too far. In the 1985 film by Australian director Bruce Beresford, Gere portrays the biblical figure of King David. The drama however didn't achieve any miracles. Gere's performance contributed to bad reviews, and he even earned a Golden Raspberry nomination for worst actor.

By the late 1980s it seemed that Gere's best acting days were over. He was still a star, but the spectrum of roles began to narrow with age as his youthful, naked charisma was less in demand. In 1990, however, he won plaudits for his role as a corrupt LA cop in Mike Figgis' gritty drama, "Internal Affairs."

Soon after "Internal Affairs," Gere celebrated another comeback of sorts a few months later, emerging as Hollywood's sex symbol de jour in the blockbuster comedy, "Pretty Woman." Alongside starlet Julia Roberts, he plays a gentle, charming billionaire with a big heart. The 41-year-old actor was back on the A-list.

Gere surprised many film critics with his next in "Rhapsody in August" by legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa that explored he aftermath of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and reflected the actor's growing interest in Asian culture and Buddhist thinking — a role far removed from "Pretty Woman." Gere had visited Nepal in the late 1970s, and was now a disciple of Tibetan Buddhism.

Nine years after "Pretty Woman," Ger was cast together again with Julia Roberts in a romantic comedy, "Runaway Bride" was another box office success, but critics tore the film apart. Gere and Roberts' characters were "dumbed down," argued US star critic Roger Ebert.

In 2000, Richard Gere played a role that seemed tailor-made for him: A charming gynecologist. Iconic director Robert Altman's film is about a doctor caught between professional demands and personal problems. Gere got some plaudits for his role in the drama alongside a female cast including Helen Hunt and Laura Dern, but the film is regarded as one of Altman's middling works.

As Gere continued to star regularly in films, some successful at the box office, some not, he became vocal in his call for Tibetan independence from Chinese rule — which he said cost him roles in Hollywood blockbusters. His long-time friendship with Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was strengthened after Gere converted to Buddhism in the early 1990s.

Other public appearances with leading political figures have illustrated Gere's interest in politics. In 2017, the actor took advantage of an invitation to the Berlin Film Festival to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel. Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, on the other hand, ridiculed Gere for the aid he provided to refugees crossing the Mediterranean.

Presented at the Berlin film Festival in 2017, "The Dinner" was Gere's latest film to be shown worldwide. Since then, he has shot only one movie that was screened at the Toronto film festival, as well as a series. The actor with a bent for political causes and now with the image of an "elder statesman" celebrates his 70th birthday on August 31.