Richard Gere Says He’s ‘Passing the Torch’ to Son Homer After ‘Euphoria’ Breakout

The "Pretty Woman" star is beaming with pride over his son Homer's acting debut — and joking he might just hang up his own hat.

Richard Gere is opening up about "passing the torch" to his 26-year-old son, Homer Gere, following the young actor's breakout performance in the third and final season of HBO's hit series "Euphoria."

Homer played Sydney Sweeney's onscreen boyfriend Dylan Reid across two episodes of the drama, generating particular buzz for his intimate scene alongside Sweeney, who portrayed Cassie Howard.

"I'm proud of him on two levels," Richard told PEOPLE. "One, he's really good. He really kind of preternaturally knows what he's doing. But he's also handling it really well. He's a good kid. He's a really good young man who kind of gets it, and this is not an easy job. Not everyone can function within it. So I think he can stay."

The elder Gere also admitted he hasn't yet caught up on all of Homer's work. "I still need to see his second episode of 'Euphoria,'" he said, "but he has this big thing coming up with Ryan Murphy, and he just finished shooting a film with Oliver Stone."

That "big thing" is "The Shards," an upcoming adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. The series, co-created by Murphy and Ellis, stars Homer alongside Kaia Gerber and is set to premiere on August 1.

Despite the playful talk of retirement, Richard is far from stepping away. He is slated to return for the second season of Paramount's "The Agency" — though that didn't stop him from quipping, "So I can retire now. I'm passing the torch."

Still, he's in no rush to see his son lock himself into a single path. "I don't think he's got to make a life choice to commit to this if he's doing this now," Richard said of Homer following in his footsteps. "He's good at it and he's having fun, but he can become a rock climber if he wants to do that."

Reflecting on his own winding road to stardom, Richard noted that acting wasn't always his sole ambition. "I'm still doing it, so it must have been the most powerful choice, but I was also a musician," he shared.

"I was a studio musician and had a lot of other things going on. But acting was the one that kind of brought it all together — my interest in psychology, philosophy, music, art."

Homer was born on February 6, 2000, to Richard and ex-wife Carey Lowell. Though he came into the world in New York City, he grew up in Westchester County.

He attended Tarrytown's private Hackley School before enrolling at Brown University, where he served as a Research Assistant at the School of Public Health and began exploring acting through several short films.

He graduated in May 2024 with a degree in psychology and a minor in visual art. Earlier this year, Homer revealed that he and his father speak every day, and that Richard's guidance ahead of "Euphoria" went beyond the craft itself.

"It's not necessarily related to like the craft, but more like how do you carry yourself, how do you make this work in a positive way," Homer told Entertainment Tonight. "Having that kind of sounding board constantly is amazing."

In addition to Homer, Richard shares two sons — Alexander and James Gere — with his wife, Alejandra Silva.