Richard Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. As a humanitarian, Gere is noted for his commitment to Buddhism. He adopted the religion in the mid-1970s and traveled to Tibet in 1978, where he visited refugee camps. He later became a student of the exiled Dalai Lama. Gere is the current president of Healing the Divide and serves as chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet.