Gere 'Amazed' at Continued Leading Man Status

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Richard Gere has been playing leading men for decades and says he's pleasantly surprised that he's still being offered these roles, such as his new one opposite Susan Sarandon in the new thriller Arbitrage.

"I'm amazed that I'm still doing this, to tell you the truth," Gere told ET in an interview to promote the film. "And I'm going to be 63 in a couple of weeks and I feel incredibly fortunate and surprised that they still ask me to do it."

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Arbitrage -- hitting theaters September 14 -- is a suspense thriller about love, loyalty, and high finance.that follows hedge fund manager Robert Miller (Gere) as he desperately tries to close a business deal and cover up a personal transgression. His wife is played by Sarandon and his mistress is portrayed by Laetitia Casta. 

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On working with Sarandon, Gere jokes, "Poor baby, she always plays my wife - what a drag." But he said their history working together also makes doing scenes very seamless. "We're just very relaxed with each other, even when we're fighting, it's the relaxed fighting of people who know each other and know each other's rhythms." 

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Sarandon agrees that teaming up with Gere again brought out the best in both of them. "It's always a good experience, he really asks a lot of questions and discusses and tries to make it very specific. We had a lot of good arguments, and I love that."