O’Donnell, who co-starred on the since-canceled, modern-day reimagining of the classic 1980 Richard Gere film, wasn’t much of a fan of it either.
Rosie O’Donnell says her American Gigolo co-star Jon Bernthal didn’t enjoy portraying a gigolo on the series.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, published Thursday, the 61-year-old actress said Bernthal was “never happy” about his character on the since-canceled Showtime series, which was a modern-day reimagining of the classic 1980 film starring Richard Gere.
Getty
Rosie O’Donnell Recalls ‘Huge Fight’ with Barbara Walters, Ellen DeGeneres Falling Out
View Story
“Jon Bernthal was not happy with the show, and it was very clear. It’s difficult to work that way on a set. He was never happy that he was playing a gigolo,” said O’Donnell, who played Detective Sunday in the series. “And I’m like, ‘Well, it’s called American Gigolo.”
TooFab has reached out to Bernthal’s reps for comment.
Meanwhile, the comedian said she “didn’t love” the show either.
“I questioned at first why you would take a movie set in the mores of the early ’80s and try to remake it without having the seismic cultural shifts that have occurred since then incorporated,” she explained, adding, “One review wrote, ‘It’s almost as though Rosie’s in a different show,’ and in a way, it was.”
In January, it was announced that American Gigolo wouldn’t be renewed for a second season due to Showtime’s merger with Paramount+, and the series was removed from Showtime. (A combined streaming service — Paramount+ and Showtime — launches later this month.)
Per Showtime, American Gigolo followed Bernthal’s Julian Kaye “after his wrongful conviction release from 15 years in prison as he navigates his complicated relationships with his former lover Michelle (Gretchen Mol), his troubled mother, and the people who betrayed him.”
The synopsis continues, “While Julian struggles to reconcile the escort he was in the past and the man he is today, Detective Sunday (O’Donnell) seeks the truth about the murder that sent Julian to prison all those years ago, unearthing a much larger conspiracy along the way.”
The since-axed series wasn’t well received by critics, earning a 37% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
