Richard Gere Opens Up About Viral ‘Homeless’ Photo, Will Host Q&A on Issue

“While the story that accompanied the photograph was somewhat fictional, it seemed to have touched something important in people,” Gere writes on Facebook

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Richard Gere will host a conversation on the issue of homelessness after a photo of the actor appearing indigent on the streets of New York for his film “Time Out of Mind” went viral last week.

Gere took over costar Jena Malone‘s Facebook page to draw attention away from the picture, but to use the hype it generated to make a difference.

“I was completely surprised to find that last week someone posted a photo of me on a Facebook fan page as a homeless man on the streets of New York that drew 1.6 million likes and over a half-a-million shares,” he wrote. “While the story that accompanied the photograph was somewhat fictional (especially the $100 hand-outs), it seemed to have touched something important in people. I’d like to find out what that is and what we can do together to make something good and meaningful happen for our homeless brothers and sisters.”

Therefore, Gere will host a Q&A on Malone’s Facebook page alongside the film’s director, Oren Moverman, on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET.

I hope you’ll join us,” he added. “We’re excited to see what happens, please ask questions and share your stories below.”

“Time Out of Mind” stars Gere as one of New York City’s thousands of homeless residents, with Malone playing his daughter. Parts of the film were shot with hidden cameras, which allowed Gere to interact with real people while remaining inconspicuous.

See Gere’s post below.

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