Norman, © 2017 – Sony Pictures Classics
Richard Gere is joining the star-studded cast of Showtime’s espionage-oriented political thriller, The Agency, which will stream on Paramount+.
It will be the first time the 74-year-old actor will be seen in a major television role, though he’d earlier appeared in several miniseries over the course of his long career, winning an Emmy nomination for And the Band Played On, a 1994 offering. Gere also starred in the BBC Two miniseries MotherFatherSon in 2019. The actor is best known, however, for his performances in such iconic films as An Officer and a Gentleman, American Gigolo, Chicago, Pretty Woman, and Primal Fear.
Gere will be joining Michael Fassbender and Jeffrey Wright in the Agency project, which has been described as a take on Le Bureau, a critically acclaimed French production. In The Agency, he will be playing the role of Bosko, a London-based character who served for eight years as an undercover agent.
In announcing the casting, Chris McCarthy said that “Richard Gere is in a class of his own, adored by generations of fans worldwide for his exceptional ability to infuse depth and authenticity into every role he plays.” McCarthy is the co-CEO of Paramount Global as well as the president and CEO of Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios.
The official synopsis for The Agency states: “The all-new political thriller follows Martian (Fassbender), a covert CIA agent, ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites. His career, his real identity and his mission are pitted against his heart; hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.”
Le Bureau had earlier focused on the daily life and missions of agents working in the Bureau of Legends, the principal agency for training undercover agents in France’s counter-espionage service.
Gere’s other upcoming projects include appearances with Jacob Elordi and Una Thurman in Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada. He is also starring with Diane Keaton and Blake Lively in The Making Of.
The Agency is now in production in London, produced as a joint project by Showtime Studios and 101 Studios. Executive producers, among others, include George Clooney and Grant Heslov via Smokehouse Pictures.
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