Jodie Turner-Smith Says There's 'Levels of Fanning Out' with “The Agency” Costar Richard Gere: 'He's So Cool'
Turner-Smith is not above fangirling over the 75-year-old actor
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Jodie Turner-Smith and Richard Gere at the premiere of 'The Agency' t Museum of Modern Art on November 21, 2024 in New York CityJodie Turner-Smith is a well-established talent in her own right, but even she has her moments of fangirling over her Hollywood peers.
The actress, 38, currently stars in The Agency with Richard Gere — as well as Michael Fassbender and Jeffrey Wright. Understandably, Turner-Smith couldn't contain her excitement over working with Gere, though she tried her best not to show it.
After recently admitting she'd love to star in Chicago on Broadway on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, host Jimmy Fallon asked if she'd talked to Gere, 75, about the show since the actor had starred as Billy Flynn in the 2002 film. In response, the Queen & Slim star said she's played it pretty coy with Gere.
Related: Richard Gere Wants Son Homer to Star in Next Season of The Agency: 'He's Really Good'
"I haven't talked to him about it," she admitted.
"There's levels of kind of fanning out with Richard Gere," she continued. "Cause he's, like, so cool and calm and I'm like, not trying to give him the whole, like, 'I love you!'"
Mike Coppola/Getty
Jodie Turner-Smith and Richard Gere attend The Agency Premiere in NY.Gere was not the only actor Turner-Smith was excited to work with on the new Paramount+ spy thriller, which is based on the French drama Le Bureau des Legende.
Admitting she's a "long-time fan" of Fassbender — who plays covert CIA agent Martian and navigates an affair with Turner-Smith's character Samia in the show — the actress told PEOPLE the Irish actor was "someone I was so wanting to work with for a very long time."
Though she said she "was definitely nervous" before starting filming earlier this year, the Bad Monkey star "was just so affirmed by how kind and generous this person that I got to do so many scenes with was — Michael Fassbender — and everyone a part of it. The producers, everyone. I felt so empowered."
"I think I'm always nervous before every job," she continued. "I feel like it's a good thing. Because if you're not nervous, I don't know, Maybe something's a little bit dead inside. But also, I still constantly feel like I'm just so at the beginning. I feel like I've been doing this for all of two seconds. I have so much to learn, and so much I want to learn."
Luke Varley/Paramount+
Jodie Turner Smith as Samia Zahir in 'The Agency'She raved that she knew the "splashy project" was "excellent" from the minute she read the scripts, and Gere has similarly gushed about how fun it was to work on the series.
"It's very well-written... it's terrific," he said on the Today show last week — minutes after flipping the bird to host Savannah Guthrie. "I mean, they're all wonderful. And we shot it like a movie. We do it the same way. Movie directors, movie actors, the schedule is like a movie schedule. It feels the same to me."
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The first two episodes of The Agency are now streaming on Paramount+.