Actor Richard Gere has opened up about his painful divorce from his wife of 11 years Carey Lowell, revealing he used his emotional turmoil to help with a new film role.

The "Pretty Woman" star separated from the Bond girl last year and threw himself into work, taking on the role of a homeless man living on the streets of New York for new movie "Time Out of Mind", reports contactmusic.com.

During a career tribute at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in the Big Apple, Gere admitted he channelled the pain from his personal life into his onscreen performance, telling the audience: "What probably really helped was I was right in the middle of a divorce, so the emotions were right on the surface."

Gere married Lowell in 2002. He was previously wed to supermodel Cindy Crawford.