Many locals did a double take last Friday morning, when movie star Richard Gere was spotted with a film crew at Main and Liberty streets, just outside Starbucks.

Gere's current film project, "The Double," co-starring Topher Grace and Martin Sheen, is being shot in the Detroit metro area, which is standing in for several locales across the globe, according a story that appeared in The Detroit Free Press. And according to University of Michigan Film Office director Lee Doyle, "The Double"'s filmmakers just concluded shooting some scenes in the North Campus Research Complex (formerly the Pfizer campus).

"The Double" tells the story of a retired C.I.A. operative (Gere) who teams up with an F.B.I. agent (Grace) to solve the mysterious murder of a Senator.

According to Doyle, the NCRC was transformed into F.B.I. Headquarters for Grace's character, and later this month, filmmakers will return to campus to create C.I.A. Headquarters for Gere and Sheen's characters.

NCRC has, in the last year, become a useful, versatile local studio for visiting film production teams. Most notably, David Schwimmer's team for "Trust" did a good deal of filming there last fall, using the space to create an airport screening area, police offices, and a therapist's office, among other backdrops.

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.