Richard Gere And Other 7 Celebs Mistaken For Homeless People

Shabby clothes and unshaved beard deceive people all over the world

Richard Gere was on the streets of Manhattan shooting scenes for his new movie, Time Out of Mind, in which he plays a homeless man, when a woman offered him a few pieces of pizza, thinking he was a real beggar.

Later it was discovered that the woman was Karine Gombeau-Valnais, a French tourist.

But Gere was not the first, nor the last celebrity to be mistaken for a beggar. The same had happened to ...

… Sir Ian McKellen, in Melbourne

During the rehearsals of the play Waiting for Godot in Melbourne, Sir Ian McKellen, known for the roles of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Magneto in X-Men, decided to sit at the door of the theater to take a breather, still in full costume. A woman came by and left him an Australian dollar in his hat. The actor left the coin stuck in a frame on the mirror of his dressing room, as an amulet.

… Jase Robertson, in New York City

Jase Robertson, one of the beardeds of the reality show Duck Dynasty, asked an employee at the hotel where he was staying where the bathroom was. He was immediately taken out. The employee pointed to the road and wished him "good luck". Later, Robertson received a formal apology.

… Macaulay Culkin, in London

On vacation, Macaulay Culkin asked for a cigarette for two young people who crossed his path, at 2:30 in the morning. The two noted his American accent, but did not recognize him at first sight. "I thought he was a homeless man who wanted to bum a cigarette," said the student Marley Spindler, who appears in the photo with Culkin.

… Bob Dylan, in Long Branch, New Jersey

In 2009, Bob Dylan went on tour through a small town in the United States and decided to go out at night, walking in the rain. He entered the yard of a house that had a "for sale" sign and frightened the residents, who called the police and described him as an "eccentric old man acting suspiciously". Dylan did not have a driving licence or other form of ID to prove his identity and was arrested. Later the singer explained that he was just looking for a house to buy.

… Samuel L. Jackson, in Calgary

Jackson was filming Resurrecting the Champ, in which he plays an ex-boxer homeless. He departed from the set still with makeup and costumes of his character. A group of beggars saw him walking, smoking cigarettes, and approached the actor, thinking he was one of them, a beggar seeking shelter.

… Robert De Niro, in his own hotel in New York City

While filming Being Flynn, Robert De Niro was prevented from entering the Greenwich Hotel. He was still wearing the clothes of the character, a homeless - the actor is famed for immersing himself in his various film roles. De Niro, ironic, said he did not blame the security. "They didn't want me in", he said. "I wouldn't want somebody like myself in". De Niro actually is the owner of the hotel.

… John Galliano, in Paris

The fashion designer John Galliano was mistaken for a beggar by a couple at Café La Perle, in Paris. Galliano became angry, cursed the couple and reacted with anti-Semitic terms. He was processed. The confusion was videotaped, published on the Internet and culminated with the dismission of the designer of Dior.