Tourist gives 'homeless' Richard Gere her leftover pizza

[icy]

The next time when you are feeding a homeless you might never know you are on camera or film handing out to Richard Gere or even Sharon Stone.



Richard Gere is diving so deep into his next film role as a homeless man that he recently had a French tourist offer him her leftovers on the streets of New York.

Gere, 64, is currently filming "Time Out of Mind," in which he plays a down-on-his-luck guy named George. The "Pretty Woman" heartthrob was in character — grimy clothes, beer in a paper bag and eating a burger from trash can — near Grand Central Station last week when Karine Gombeau of Paris saw him and decided to help.

Gombeau, 42, told The New York Post that she and her family had ordered an "enormous" pizza earlier, and offered him their leftovers.

"I said, ‘Je suis désolée (I am sorry), but the pizza is cold,'?" she told the paper.

According to her, after Gere accepted the offering, he replied, "Thank you so much. God bless you."

The tourist explained to The Post that she felt the urge to help because, "It leaves me really sad to know we waste food and they have nothing."

"She was a complete stranger who just happened to see him acting," Gere's publicist told TODAY. "It's a sweet story."



Richard Gere and Kyra Sedgwick filming "Time Out of Mind" on April 23 in New York.


Though the movie's crew was filming from across the street, Gombeau, who was with her husband and teenage son, said the family didn't realize they were on a set.

"People came from all over the station and told my husband to stop filming," Gombeau told The Post. "People came out of the subways. It was very confusing."

And when someone showed Gombeau photos of her with the actor, the tourist told the paper she was amazed.

"It's unimaginable that something like this could happen," she said. "I think he's very handsome, even at his age."

"Time Out of Mind," which also stars Kyra Sedgwick and is directed by Oscar-nominated Oren Moverman, does not yet have a release date.

[Big Uncle]

It is nice to see how dedicated Richard Gere is to his work and it was also nice to witness the compassion of this French lady whom I assume didn't know it was Richard Gere at that time. It is very rare these days for people to notice a poor and hungry homeless person. We are often more concerned with our own affairs than to stop to think about the homeless person we saw on the street. We as Buddhist often talk about compassion but do have the compassion to notice the sufferings of the homeless or even the hungry street cat or dog. How much we are concerned with those that are unable to repay our kindness does seem to make our practice of compassion a tad bit more real.

[maricisun]

This is called professional actor. Richard Gere is my idol and he really go into the screen personality and feel how a beggar felt. It's not easy for someone as famous as him tom be in this character but he choose to do something out of the extra ordinary for someone like him.
And the lady that gave her leftover pizza to a beggar is somehow kind. This is to show that we should not waste our food and also to feed the homeless.
Hunger knows no barriers.

[cookie]

On one hand its great to see such great "real" actions from people like Richard Gere and Gombeau who showed us that true sympathy for others is still practiced by some . On the other hand if such actions have become a novelty in this world, it is rather sad too. It is after all such a simple gesture which rightfully does not deserve so much recognition, as it should just be a norm for all people to do.

[RedLantern]

It is wonderful to know that there are compassionate people like Karine Gombeau who cares for the homeless
Everyone deserved to be loved no matter what happened to them in their past.
Richard Gere is a very talented and professional actor who played his role to perfection as a homeless man .I lost count of the number of times I've watched "Pretty Woman". Will definitely watch "Time Out of Mind"

[dondrup]

The streets in the world will be free of the homeless if there are more kind and compassionate people like Karine Gombeau. Richard Gere had portrayed his character very well here!  Hopefully when Time Out of Mind is finally released, it would bring the movie audience's attention to the plight of the homeless. Much should be done to eradicate this social problem.

[Jessie Fong]

Karine was right when she said we "waste food" -- how often have we left some food on a plate at the end of a meal? It would serve well if we would order small servings so that we can finish the food and order more later if we feel we could still eat more, rather than order larger servings only to find that we could finish those and have to throw away.

It was very kind of Karine to offer the food to the "homeless" Richard.  Not many people would have done what she did.  There are many homeless people on the streets who go to sleep hungry, thirsty and unkempt.

[grandmapele]

Richard Gere has always managed to bring credibility to any role he played for the big screen. Kudos tohim here as again he has proven that he can any roles he plays. Kudos too to the Karine Gombeau for doing her bit. If everyone can do just a little bit it will amount to something.

Society has made us into zombies, chasing the daily grind that 'we have no time to stand and stare'. To absorb what is around us and be aware. In these modern times, it takes a unique person to see that little hardship and do that little bit to help ease it. That's why in these modern times, we need special, unique Buddhas, Boddhisatvas and Protectors to help guide us and ease our daily lot

[kris]

to me, this story is very beautiful for 2 reasons. first is that Richard Gere has made his fortune and now he is doing a lot of work related on humanity. secondly (and also more importantly), is that there are many people who care about others, just like Gombeau.

though we lived in a world where most people would just care about themselves, there are many who would go the extend to help others. that's the same reason I like this TV reality series "What would you do". Just google and watch some of the videos and be inspired

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=what+would+you+do

[rossoneri]

It is very nice of this french lady to be so kind to offer a pizza to this "homeless" without knowing he is in fact Mr. Richard Gere. Always be kind to others and help in which ever way you could and develop care for others and not just to ourselves. We need much more people like Karine in this degenerate age. 

[Kim Hyun Jae]

The French lady had only one thought. She brought back her left over pizza with thoughts of not wasting food and helped a homeless man (Richard Gere) out of pity, kindness and compassion as he has no food himself.

How many of us would stop to relief the pain and sufferings of a homeless individual to help? The French lady did not think of herself then. She looked out of herself to help another.

May there be more of these kind individuals to help the homeless.

[pgdharma]

There are many homeless all over the world and most of the time they are not noticed as most people will not stop to look at them. However, there are some who will help and give to those less fortunate and one of them is Karine Gombeau whose first thought when she saw a "homeless" man was that she have to give some food to him. Richard Gere is a very good actor and he played his role well and convincing that a stranger like Karine Gombeau actually though that he is a "homeless" man.

[Manjushri]

this is a cute story to read because the act/deed on the part of the French Lady and her family is so pure in thought. It's one of the rare moments lucky enough to be captured, to show the world that there is some hope, some kindness in mankind still, instead of reading on wars, politics, murder, crime, death, etc, on the news everyday. Its' also sweet of Richard Gere to play the part in accepting the offerings from the kind lady. Bless her soul.

There are many people who will ignore and avoid situations because they are too lazy to act on it, or cannot be bothered to be pushed out of their comfort zone. However, one should always see an opportunity to give, as a blessing, because it teaches you, helps you, and gives you the opportunity to do good, out of the many days we focus only on ourselves.

[metta girl]

Even the smallest act of kindness can make a difference in someone's day.You Never Know Who's Day You Could Make. A simple random act of kindness  can make someone feel great inside &  we will feel great inside too.Sometimes it's the smallest gestures that have the greatest impact on someone.
Sometimes all we need in life is a little spontaneity. Make a conscious effort to act on every single thought of generosity that arises in your heart. Being kind is being happy!

[bambi]

As usual, its inspiring to read articles like this. Sad to also know that countries can spend millions of dollars in developing machines for wars when they can use the money to help all those that are suffering in their own or other countries.
We must always start from ourselves, teach the younger generation to be kind and giving, set an example so that others may be inspired and do the same. In time, many will also do the same. Nobody choose to be poor, homeless and out on the streets.