Richard Gere Says He and Diane Keaton ‘Took Care of Each Other’ on ‘Raw, Sexual’ Early Movie, Looking for Mr. Goodbar

Richard Gere is remembering one of his first film costars, Diane Keaton. 

The 76-year-old actor reflected on Keaton’s life and work after the news of her death during an appearance on the Today show on Thursday, Oct. 16. 

“One of my earliest films, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, was with her,” Gere recalled, citing the 1977 film. “The second film I made was with her, and, obviously, I think about her now.” 

The Richard Brooks film about a teacher (Keaton) who cruised bars looking for men to have “progressively dangerous, extreme sexual encounters” with required both Keaton and Gere to film vulnerable scenes, according to an IMDb synopsis.

“That was a difficult film,” Gere recalled. “It was a very raw, sexual film and she’s pretty shy and skittish and I was too. It was my second film. And we kind of took care of each other getting through these challenging physical scenes with each other.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The costars got the opportunity to work together again on 2023’s Maybe I Do, which was one of Keaton’s final films. 

“We made a film a few years ago too and I hadn’t seen her in a long time,” Gere recalled. “And I remember just how sweet and gentle she was and how real. I think anyone who’s ever worked with her is just like ‘this is a real person.’ Completely original.”

Keaton’s family exclusively shared with PEOPLE that the iconic actress died of pneumonia at the age of 79.

“The Keaton family are very grateful for the extraordinary messages of love and support they have received these past few days on behalf of their beloved Diane, who passed away from pneumonia on October 11,” read the family’s statement.

Keaton’s family went on to share the causes she was passionate about: “She loved her animals and she was steadfast in her support of the unhoused community, so any donations in her memory to a local food bank or an animal shelter would be a wonderful and much appreciated tribute to her.”

Keaton had a number of iconic roles to her name, including her Oscar-winning turn in Annie Hall, which was released the same year as Looking for Mr. Goodbar.