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THE
chance to act alongside Robert Downey Jr. under the
direction of Jon Favreau—two towering talents she
admires greatly—lay behind Gwyneth Paltrow’s decision to
join the cast of the blockbuster Iron Man. “And also
because I thought it would be a lot of fun,” she smiles.
“And it certainly was.” The Oscar-winning actress is
renowned for immersing herself in some of the most
demanding roles of modern times—playing troubled poetess
Sylvia Plath opposite Daniel Craig as Ted Hughes in
Sylvia, and the daughter of a brilliant but
disturbed mathematics genius, played by Sir Anthony
Hopkins, in Proof are both good examples.
But
Paltrow has always enjoyed trying new genres and has
proved to be as versatile as any of her contemporaries
working today. She won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for
her role in the charming romantic comedy Shakespeare
in Love and has excelled in offbeat comedies like
The Royal Tenenbaums and thrillers including The
Talented Mr. Ripley and A Perfect Murder.
Iron Man,
a big-budget action-adventure movie based on the Marvel
Comics character, represents another first for Paltrow.
Directed by Favreau—who is equally at home in front of
the camera in films like Swingers, Something’s
Gotta Give and Daredevil—she joins a stellar
cast that includes Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard and
Samuel L. Jackson.
“When I
came onboard Jon [Favreau] was directing, Robert [Downey
Jr.] was Iron Man and Jeff Bridges and Terrence
Howard were onboard as well, so I was like, ‘Are you
kidding? That’s an unbelievable lineup.’” she says.
“And Jon
was like, ‘We’re going to make it really good. It’s
going to be really good and cool and funny and
commercial and you should do it.’ And I said ‘OK!’”
Paltrow
plays
Virginia “Pepper” Potts, assistant to billionaire playboy
industrialist and inventor Tony Stark, who, unbeknown to
her, has a secret life as Iron Man, the formidable
avenger who combats the forces of evil.
“Pepper
is sort of Tony’s girl Friday,” she explains. “She’s his
assistant, she runs his personal and business life but
they definitely have a bit of a spark, a little
something, and their relationship is full of banter.
And, you know, it was real fun to play.
“There’s
a lot of humor in the film alongside the action stuff.
And Robert makes everything funny and he was such a
dream to work with. He added a lot of humor and a lot of
spark to it. I had a blast working with him and the rest
of the guys.”
Favreau,
says the actress, did a great job directing Iron Man,
a huge production with state-of-the-art special effects.
“He was amazing,” she says. “He was very collected and
very focused and very funny, and he was like the head of
this huge ship, steering this massive thing, and it was
really a lot of fun to work with someone who has a lot
of integrity and also a good commercial sense, and he
makes good movies.”
And even
though the demands are different from some of the other
films that Paltrow has made, she still found the process
creatively challenging.
“Well,
it is different,” she explains. “It’s not as
gut-wrenching as doing something like Proof or
Sylvia, but you still have to be prepared and know
what you’re doing and who you are and what you want. You
still have to do your acting homework. But you are not
so much pulling your hair out and sobbing; it’s more
laughing and kind of having fun, which was great for
me.”
Paltrow,
35, has delivered a raft of acclaimed performances in
films, which include the thriller Seven, the
romantic comedy Sliding Doors and the period
drama Emma. More recently, she starred in the
romantic comedy The Good Night, opposite Martin
Freeman and Penélope Cruz, which was directed by her
brother, Jake Paltrow.
The
daughter of the late producer Bruce Paltrow and
acclaimed actress Blythe Danner, she was born in
Los Angeles, California,
and, after acting as a child, made her film debut in
1991 in Shout.
She is
married to the Coldplay singer Chris Martin and they
have two children, a daughter, Apple, 3, and a son,
Moses, who is 20 months old. They divide their time
between homes in
London
and New York.
SPARKS WIT H STARK.
In
Iron Man, Paltrow
plays Virginia “Pepper” Potts, assistant to billionaire
playboy industrialist and inventor Tony Stark (Robert
Downey Jr.), who, unbeknown to her, has a secret life as
Iron Man.
Both you
and Robert wouldn’t immediately spring to mind for a
film like this.
Right,
which is what makes it so cool. And interesting.
So what
hooked you in?
Well,
when I came onboard Jon (Favreau) was directing, Robert
was Iron Man and Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard were
onboard as well, so I was like “Are you kidding? That’s
an unbelievable lineup.” And Jon was like “We’re going
to make it really good. It’s going to be really good and
cool and funny and commercial and you should do it.’ And
I said, “OK!” (Laughs). And then Robert called me and
said, “You have to be in this” and I’ve always wanted to
work with him and then he said, “Don’t you want to be in
a movie for once in your life where people actually go
to the cinema to see it!” (Laughs) And I said, “That
would be fun! What would that be like?” I mean, I’ve had
movies be successful, thank God, but I’ve never really
been in a superhero movie.
So it’s
the chance to work with people you admire?
Yes, and
that was the only way I would have done it. It was like
people who are so creatively inspiring. And I would work
with these people in a second if the budget were $2
million and we were doing some cool little thing, you
know, and I thought to myself, “Am I going to turn my
nose up just because its big budget? Am I going to be
sniffy?” Why would I? That’s crazy. And also I wanted to
do, it because I thought it would be a lot of fun. And
it certainly was.
Did you
have to do a lot of CGI?
No.
Robert had to do more than I did. But Jon wanted to do
as much of it in a real and practical way as possible
so, of course, there is some CGI but not so much as you
would think.
Did you
get involved in any big-action sequences?
Only at
the end. Most of the action stuff is done when my
character doesn’t know that he’s Iron Man, so he’s
flying off and doing stuff and then coming back. I don’t
do any flying or fighting! But it was great.
When did
you film this?
It was
March through June in 2007, and we did it on location
and in the studio in Los Angeles. And you know, this is
one of those films that my kids can see and I can’t say
that about all of my films (laughs). With some, they
might have to wait a few years.
Did you
go straight on to another movie after this?
No, I
finished that and I had knee surgery. I bashed my knee
and kept working and exercising and running and
everything, and so I needed surgery. Actually, I did
that while we were still filming, so I had to go back to
work after surgery, finish the movie, and then I spent
the summer with my family. And then came back here (to
London) and got Apple settled at school and now I’m
going to do a film with James Gray. It’s a love story
with Joaquin Phoenix. It’s an arty little love story
that we will film in Brooklyn.
Was
Iron Man your first film after you had your second
child?
Yes. In
a way it does get easier going back to work after the
second child. But I haven’t done a film yet where I’m in
every scene, and that’s why Iron Man was so great
because I worked like two, three days a week, and then
there would be a section where they would go to some
location and bomb things or whatever (laughs) and I
would be home for two weeks. It was great. So I haven’t
done a massive role in a long movie.
Intentionally?
Yes, I
just can’t imagine it right now. They are too little for
me to do something like Sylvia because that’s the kind
of thing that completely consumes one and it’s
impossible. I don’t imagine how I would come home and
hang out with the kids and then go to work and do
something like that. Maybe when they are older and they
don’t need me so much.
Do you
look at work in a different way now, do you think?
I’m
looking for things that are good and worth me leaving
home to do. And also, I don’t want to work as much as I
used to but I still want to work, so I’m looking for
like doing something once a year.
So
you’re trying to find that little gem....
Yeah,
and it’s hard, especially as you get older. You know, it
really is true—the roles for women are not as abundant
when you are in your 30s as they are when you are in
your 20s. Most parts in
Hollywood
are written for 25-year-old women and there are a lot of
for mid-30s and some for mid-40s, but not a lot. I guess
it’s about the economics—the box office is what drives
what gets made, so if you are talking about like a
commercial kind of movie, 14-year-old boys don’t go and
see movies about 42-year-old women.
But why
is it that male actors don’t seem to have that time
constraint?
Because
a man can be handsome and dashing into his 60s and be
sexy.
But a
woman can be beautiful later in life, too.
I agree,
but a lot of people don’t see it that way.
But you
have other things in your life right now, so is it fair
to say that films have to fit in with that?
Yes, I
do, so perhaps that gives me the kind of balance that’s
good for me right now. (Laughs)
Are you
enjoying living in
London?
There’s
so much fascination about me living here (laughs), what
is that? But I really love it here, I think it’s a great
city and I really do love it. And I feel very lucky that
we get to go back between New York and here. I feel that
we have two really great homes in two fantastic cities.
I mean, I’m so fortunate. And again, it’s a nice
balance—it’s unbeatable.
Do the
paparazzi leave you alone more now?
It comes
in waves, you know, it depends. It can be absolutely
quiet for weeks and weeks, just fantastic, and then
there can be a rumor that we’re getting divorced or this
or that, and then there are swarms of people there. And
then they get bored and just move on. So it depends.
Do you
take any notice of that kind of stuff?
No. It’s
now just some noise on the outside. It doesn’t affect me
anymore or worry me. I used to get caught up in it but
now I don’t. |
