Richard Gere Reveals Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase CEO, Was Perfect Model For His 'Arbitrage' Character

When Richard Gere was cast as hedge fund titan Robert Miller in the 2012 Wall Street film "Arbitrage," writer and director Nicholas Jarecki said he looked to real-life tycoons -- including Warren Buffett to Richard Branson -- as inspiration for the character. But Gere had only one in mind: Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase.

Though the names of other hedge fund managers were thrown around, in September, the 63-year-old actor said Dimon was much more like Miller. Gere continued to sing the JPMorgan chief's praises in an interview this week, revealing to the Financial Times' magazine that Dimon was the perfect model for his "Arbitrage" character.

Incidentally, Gere and Dimon do look strikingly similar.

In the feature story, FT Magazine's Lucy Kellaway writes:

He tells me that he sees the handsome JPMorgan chief as the perfect model for his character – a highly talented man, decent in parts, yet who does bad things. "When I saw him testify when they had lost $8bn or whatever, the confidence and the hubris and the sense of, also, mea culpa. The guy was so engaging. He wants the camera on him. Supremely confident, even with a loss, a good gambler."

Click over to FT Magazine to read the rest of the interview.