Actor Richard Gere has been devoting a lot of time in recent years to his Buddhist beliefs. But that didn't stop him from portraying a couple of old-fashioned bad guys in upcoming films.
The 40-year-old actor, who has done little acting since his acclaimed performance in 1982's "An Officer and a Gentleman," says in the current issue of Fame magazine that he has been supporting the cause of Tibetans, who have been under Chinese occupation since 1950."They are a gentle, spiritual people who have been systematically murdered by the Chinese," said Gere, who, along with composer Philip Glass, founded the Tibet House for Himalayan exiles in New York two years ago.
Gere, best known for his sex-symbol roles in films such as "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" and "American Gigolo," is a student of the exiled Dalai Lama, this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner.