Puppy love: Richard isn't sure about dogs on set.
Richard Gere was nervous about meeting the dogs who star in his latest movie. The 60-year-old actor starred and directed Hachi, which is based on a true story about an Akita, a Japanese breed of dog which are renowned for their deep focus and intuition, and Richard admits he took a lot of work to gain their trust.
He said: "Akitas are very discerning. I was nervous about meeting them. You can't buy them with treats - they have to trust you."
He was keen for the pooches not to be trained to do tricks as didn't want them doing anything unnatural.
He told the Daily Mail newspaper: "We didn't want to make a Disney movie. We wanted to spend a long time filming their natural actions. We wanted to create situations which explore what a dog feels."
The movie is quite a tear-jerker and the 'Pretty Woman' star was thrilled when he heard the ladies' bathroom was packed with emotional women following a screening.
He said: "I love that, I love it."
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