Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere knew their family connection would attract attention when they were cast together in FX’s The Shards.
Gerber’s mother, Cindy Crawford, was married to Homer’s father, Richard Gere, from 1991 to 1995.
Despite that history and a few mutual friends, the younger actors had never met before joining the Ryan Murphy-produced series.
Rather than avoid the obvious subject, Gerber and Homer acknowledged it during the cast’s first gathering and quickly moved past any potential awkwardness.
They Addressed the ‘Elephant in the Room’ Immediately
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Homer said the cast met for drinks approximately two weeks before filming began. Either he or Gerber quickly raised the unusual connection between their families, although he could not remember who mentioned it first. “It’s really funny, the odds are funny,” he told USA Today at the show’s New York premiere.
“We had never met, actually, before shooting,” Homer explained. “We met two weeks before at a bar, with all the cast, and it was our first kind of like, let’s meet each other, and she was lovely.” He recalled that one of them then asked, “Should we address the elephant in the room?”
Richard and Crawford married in Las Vegas in December 1991 and divorced in 1995. Crawford later married Rande Gerber, with whom she shares Kaia and son Presley. Richard had Homer with his former wife, Carey Lowell.
The Family Connection Quickly Became Secondary
“From the inside, it’s really normal,” Homer told E! News. “We just became friends as coworkers before we started working, and she’s become a really close friend.” Gerber offered a similar account, saying she was primarily excited to meet the actor who would become one of her most important scene partners.
“It was so lovely to work with him,” she said. “He’s so wonderful. He’s so funny. He makes me laugh so hard, and he’s the greatest scene partner ever.” She added that the production created a supportive environment and said she and Homer became increasingly close throughout filming.
Their Friendship Helped With the Show’s Dark Material
The Shards is based on Bret Easton Ellis’ semi-autobiographical novel and follows a group of privileged high school seniors in Los Angeles in 1981. Igby Rigney plays a fictionalized version of Ellis, whose social circle is unsettled by the arrival of mysterious new student Robert Mallory, played by Homer. At the same time, a serial killer known as the Trawler is targeting young people across the city.
Gerber plays Susan Reynolds, one of Bret’s closest childhood friends. The central group also includes Debbie Schaffer, played by Hayes Warner, and Thom Wright, played by Graham Campbell. Homer said the cast’s genuine friendships prevented the show’s disturbing material from controlling the atmosphere between takes.
“I think the fact that we’re actually close friends kept it inherently light,” he told People. “We had constant sounding boards for each other.” He said laughter remained part of the production even when the actors were working through the story’s horror, obsession and violence. “I don’t think there was a day on set that there wasn’t real laughter and fun,” he said.
Cindy Crawford Supported Gerber at the Premiere
Gerber and Homer appeared together at the show’s world premiere in New York on July 27, renewing public interest in their parents’ former marriage. “I was just excited to meet him, honestly,” she told USA Today before adding that Crawford would be joining her at the premiere.
Crawford later attended the celebration in support of her daughter, while Gerber and Homer posed together with fellow cast members on the red carpet.
The first two episodes of the 10-part The Shards premiere August 5 on FX and Hulu, with the remaining episodes scheduled for weekly release.