Richard Gere Talks About 'Arbitrage' & How He's Still Upset About 2003 Oscar Snub For 'Chicago'

Gere appeared in the 2003 film "Chicago" along with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Queen Latifah, Renee Zellweger and John C. Reilly. While his co-stars all landed nominations for that year's Oscars, Gere was left out.

Though he claimed to care little about the Oscars, "Chicago" affected him differently.

"The only time it really bothered me was in 'Chicago'. Everyone else got nominated. I'm waiting for my name and it goes right by me, like, 'Wow, what happened?' I have to admit, that got to me," Gere said on a talk show.

While speaking to the Huffington Post, Gere explains why the audience roots for his "Arbitrage" character, Robert Miller, even though he has committed a heinous crime.

Even though the character does some terrible things, Gere says:

"Yeah, but we all do. That's why you're rooting for him. The things he does are human. The scene in the park with my daughter, where I explain to her what happened -- I certainly spin it in my favor. But, in the end, they were in the realm of rational business. He just lost the bet.

"He made a big bet and he lost. He broke the law in a big way, but it's understandable. It's large compromises with ethics and morality the guy does, but it's all within the realm we all do. We all shave taxes -- white lies to our wives and lovers.

"Everybody does. And I think that's why, in a way, we root for this guy and we identify with him. We all make bad decisions."

The next question that Gere was asked by the Huffington Post has a spoiler answer, so some readers may wish to stop here.

Gere talks about the car accident early in the film that kills his girlfriend:

"I liked it because when I first read the script it resonated with Bernie Madoff and Ted Kennedy ... Chappaquiddick. And Ted Kennedy was one of the most responsible senators that we've ever had. I've worked in Washington now for almost 30 years.

"The best people working in Washington came through his office. They're working on human rights stuff, they're working on health stuff, they're working on civil rights stuff. The best people were trained in his office, came through the stuff he was pushing and working on his entire life.

"But he made one horrible decision. Horrible, horrible decision. So I liked that gray area of someone like that, and adding that to the financial thing, to me, was the perfect storm of a character for two hours."