"It turns out I was in Spider-Man, I didn't even realize." Gwyneth Paltrow takes a walk down memory lane as she rewatches scenes from her classic works including 'Iron Man,' 'Glee,' 'Sliding Doors,' 'The Talented Mr. Ripley,' 'The Royal Tenenbaums,' and 'Shakespeare in Love.' Gwyneth dishes on working with director Jon Favreau for 'Iron Man,' learning to never say never, and so much more.Read Gwyneth Paltrow’s Vanity Fair cover story: https://vanityfair.visitlink.me/6ADIEEDirector: Funmi SunmonuDirector of Photography: Grant BellEditor: Matthew ColbyTalent: Gwyneth PaltrowProducer: Emebeit BeyeneAssociate Producer: Alexis AlzamoraProduction Manager: Andressa PelachiProduction Coordinator: Elizabeth HymesCamera Operator: Shay Eberle-GunstAudio Engineer: Justin FoxProduction Assistant: Fernando Barajas; Lauren BoucherPost Production Supervisor: Christian OlguinPost Production Coordinator: Rachel KimSupervising Editor: Rob LombardiAdditional Editor: Jason MaliziaAssistant Editor: Billy Ward
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Dude, it's the Halloween costume that won't end.
00:03It's so funny.
00:05Every year, people send me, you know, like,
00:07oh, look what I see.
00:08It's like New York Street, like someone,
00:10sometimes it's an eight-year-old girl,
00:12sometimes it's, you know, sometimes it's a whole family
00:15dressed as the tenement.
00:16It's pretty great.
00:17Hi, Vanity Fair, I'm Gwyneth Paltrow,
00:19and I'm going to watch some scenes
00:21from throughout my career.
00:23Here we go.
00:24Yes.
00:38What do you want me to do?
00:38Put that on the table over there.
00:39That is irrelevant.
00:40Oh, my God.
00:41Oh, I remember this scene.
00:42And you're just gonna gently lift the wire out.
00:46Is it safe?
00:47It's not a great wig, guys, let's face it.
00:49So basically, what they did was,
00:51from here down was prosthetics, like a fake body.
00:55So he was lying on a table,
00:57and his body was, like, underneath the chair,
00:59and then they put this fake torso
01:01with the hole in his chest,
01:03and then in there, they put,
01:04it reminded me of, like, you know, kid's slime,
01:07like from Nickelodeon.
01:08It was like this sort of, you know,
01:10greenish kind of slime in there.
01:13Yeah.
01:13Oh, oh, there's pus.
01:16It's not pus, it's an inorganic plasmic discharge.
01:19It's from the device, not from my body.
01:21It smells.
01:23Yeah, it does.
01:24We had so much fun on this movie.
01:26It kind of felt like a independent movie in a way.
01:28Jon Favreau and Robert and I
01:31kind of improvised all day, every day.
01:36There was a lot of rewriting,
01:37and we would go to Jon's trailer in the morning,
01:39and the three of us would kind of improv,
01:42which is not typical on, like, a big-budget action movie.
01:45But Jon is so brilliant,
01:46and he really wanted the movie to feel
01:50like it had this reality to it,
01:52and that it was very character-based.
01:55What's wrong?
01:56Oh, nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest,
01:58because you yanked out-
01:59What? I thought you said this was safe.
02:01We gotta hurry.
02:01Take this, take this.
02:02Okay.
02:03We gotta switch out really quick.
02:04Okay, okay.
02:05Tony.
02:06What?
02:06It's gonna be okay, okay?
02:07It's gonna be okay.
02:08I am gonna make this okay.
02:09You're pausing, now I'm all engaged.
02:11I wanna know what happens.
02:12My heart's pounding out of my chest.
02:15I don't know, we had a really good time, you know?
02:17There was no pressure on us.
02:18Nobody thought it was gonna turn into anything,
02:20and the studio felt like, you know,
02:23they had taken this big risk on Robert as a leading man,
02:27and they're like, oh, it probably won't even, like,
02:29be a hit, you know?
02:31And then it came out,
02:32and just changed the course of that studio.
02:36Did you ever imagine that when you first signed on
02:39that you would end up in seven films?
02:41I can't be right.
02:42I can't have been in seven.
02:44Is that true?
02:46One time, I didn't realize I was in Spider-Man.
02:48I was, like, doing a scene with Robert and Jon Favreau,
02:52so I thought it was a cameo.
02:53They're like, it's another, anyway.
02:55And it turned out I was in Spider-Man.
02:56I didn't even realize.
02:58Do you think you'll end up in Brain New World?
03:00What is that?
03:02You've gapped in America.
03:03Oh, no, I don't think so.
03:05I think I would've known by now.
03:07I may, we'll see.
03:10I don't know.
03:12They keep it all very top secret, you know?
03:14They think they're the CIA or something over there,
03:17that it's, like, national secrets.
03:20Like, who's doing what and who's doing what.
03:22That's why I didn't know I was in Spider-Man,
03:24because they never said.
03:26There were no signs that said Spider-Man.
03:27The script didn't say Spider-Man.
03:30It's all a secret.
03:31["Spider-Man Theme"]
03:37Did I hear something about a substitute?
03:39Yes, it works.
03:41Oh.
03:43Oh, my gosh.
03:45Okay.
03:51Oh, what the hell?
03:52Hola, clase.
03:53Nothing says bienvenidos quite like a buttered floor.
03:58I was living in London at the time,
04:00and really not acting much,
04:02and kind of focusing on my kids and my burgeoning business.
04:08And at the time in England,
04:10everything from America, culturally,
04:12would be, like, a year later.
04:15It would always happen that people would be like,
04:16oh, my God, you've gotta watch, you know, 24.
04:20And then everyone would talk about something so much,
04:22and then by the time it came to London,
04:24it would be like, you know, have I missed the boat?
04:27I got a call saying there's this new TV show,
04:31and it's this big hit, and I was like, yeah, yeah, sure.
04:34I called my brother, who's like my best friend,
04:36and he's a filmmaker, and I said,
04:39I got offered this TV show.
04:40Obviously, I'm not doing it.
04:41Like, I'm not even acting right now.
04:43But what is it?
04:44Like, they said it's a big hit over there.
04:46It's called Glee, and my brother was like,
04:48you have to do it.
04:49It's this really fun, and I was like,
04:50oh, I'll just, you know, I'll read it.
04:52And it was so delightful, you know,
04:54to get to sort of speak Spanish, and sing,
04:56and play guitar, and do all the fun things.
04:59And I was like, okay, I'm gonna go do it.
05:01♪ I'm sorry, I can't afford a Ferrari ♪
05:05♪ But that don't mean I can't get you there ♪
05:08♪ I guess she's an expert, and I'm only sorry ♪
05:12♪ Mm, but the way you play your game, you fail ♪
05:14Oh my gosh.
05:15I'd never done TV, even though I grew up.
05:18My dad made TV shows,
05:19and I'd grown up on TV sets my whole life.
05:21I'd actually never done a TV show,
05:23so I didn't understand those dynamics
05:26of like different directors coming on.
05:28And, you know, you're definitely walking
05:30into like this pretty fixed dynamic of all the people,
05:35how many pages they shot in one day.
05:37It kind of blew my mind.
05:38In a movie like Iron Man, you know,
05:40you could shoot like a third of a page for days
05:42if it was an action thing,
05:44and this was like three and a half pages in one,
05:46in half a day sometimes,
05:48or a musical number in half a day.
05:50♪ She's a gold digger, just so much to know ♪
05:53♪ Ooh, I got some news for you ♪
05:57So it was sort of breathless,
05:59and very, very different for me, but I liked it.
06:02I felt like it was really efficient,
06:03and it was nice to get to know all those guys.
06:07And it's really, you know,
06:09it's like I was just watching it
06:10and so struck by the fact that, you know,
06:12three of those cast members are not with us anymore.
06:14It's like life changes so much
06:16in the course of these years.
06:18It was really fun, and obviously, you know,
06:20that's where I met Brad, who became my husband.
06:23He was a producer on the show, and we were friends.
06:25We became friends for years,
06:26and then we ended up getting married years later.
06:29So it was obviously a very important moment in my life,
06:33a very consequential decision,
06:37a very important sliding doors moment.
06:40Ah, see what I did?
06:42♪ I want you to come back to me, Ellen ♪
06:48I want you to come back to me, Ellen.
06:51God, I haven't seen this movie in a really long time.
06:53We were so good together.
06:57Gosh, I look like my daughter.
06:59Oh, my God.
07:00You know who did that haircut?
07:01This guy who's sitting right over there
07:03all those years ago.
07:05Isn't that funny?
07:06I'm late, Jerry, four days.
07:09I'm never late.
07:10Oh, Russell, look, hi.
07:12Look, mate, look, can I ring you back in a few minutes, yeah?
07:15I remember this, and then she goes
07:17and does that, like, star six-nine thing.
07:22Oh, boy, he's in for it now, guys.
07:25Detective work in that 90s Calvin Klein.
07:27That's what's happening.
07:29At the time, I was kind of a muse for Calvin, as they say,
07:33and so he was dressing me a lot for things.
07:36There was kind of an inherent power
07:38that you felt wearing those suits
07:40because the lines were so clean and sharp,
07:43and it was so flattering.
07:45I think I also was playing this very English girl
07:50from sort of Chelsea, and it's a very specific accent,
07:54and I kind of liked the idea
07:55of wearing this American designer,
07:59bringing it over to the UK.
08:01Why are you pretending I'm Russell?
08:02You know I hate that.
08:04What's going on?
08:07Jerry, answer me.
08:08Who's there?
08:09It's Helen, actually.
08:11We met once.
08:12I interrupted you faking your orgasm.
08:14Sorry I can't be more specific.
08:19I think it's a film that people actually reference a lot.
08:22You know, they'll say, like,
08:23oh, I had a sliding doors moment
08:25where I could have gone this way, and I went this way.
08:27I really felt for both characters when I was playing them.
08:30I mean, the one with the brown hair
08:33is obviously a bit more, you know,
08:35the wool's still being pulled over her eyes.
08:37She's not empowered yet,
08:38so we kind of find her at a very different part
08:41of her journey as opposed to the short blonde Helen
08:43who's already kind of like, you know,
08:45cast off this idea of who she's supposed to be,
08:48and she's kind of making her own way.
08:50So I was very fond of both of them,
08:52but, you know, I can't choose favorites.
09:02I found Dicky's rings.
09:04What?
09:05You have Dicky's rings.
09:07I can explain.
09:08He's busted, guys.
09:09Dicky promised me he would never take off this ring.
09:11I'm gonna put some clothes on,
09:12and I'll come out, and we'll talk about this.
09:13I have to tell Mr. Greenleaf.
09:14Marge, come, Marge.
09:15I have to tell Mr. Greenleaf.
09:16Marge, you're being hysterical.
09:17He promised me, I swear,
09:19I will never take off this ring.
09:21Shut up!
09:22I loved working with Matt,
09:23and Matt is like one of our national treasures in a way.
09:28Like, he's just such an amazing American actor.
09:31He was so dedicated and so in it,
09:34and acting with him was really inspiring and easy.
09:38I always said he should have won the Oscar for this.
09:41I loved working with Jude as well,
09:43and Philip Seymour Hoffman, of course,
09:45who was like one of the best actors I've ever worked with.
09:49When you work with a great actor,
09:52they're giving you so much,
09:53and then it helps you get into what you're doing,
09:56and then you're giving back,
09:57and it's kind of like this feedback loop
09:59of creation that's happening,
10:01and I think that's what was happening here in this scene.
10:03It's a little bit of like a horror scene
10:06that I know that he's coming towards me
10:08and likely gonna try to kill me.
10:10Why do you have Dickie's rings?
10:12I told you, he gave them to me.
10:14Why?
10:15When?
10:16I feel as if you haven't been listening
10:17to anything I've been saying to you.
10:19I don't believe you.
10:20This movie's definitely in my kind of top five,
10:23I would say, of movies that I've been in.
10:26I'm really proud of it,
10:27and it's funny too because when it came out,
10:28it wasn't like a big hit,
10:30and it got good reviews but not amazing,
10:32and didn't get a ton of award buzz or anything like that,
10:36and I think people at the time were surprised
10:38because a lot of people thought it was such a good movie,
10:40and it's nice to see it really stand the test of time,
10:43and so many people come up to me
10:46and say this is their favorite movie.
10:47We rehearsed a lot in Rome, which was fantastic,
10:50and shot some in Rome,
10:52and in fact, I think this scene takes place in Rome,
10:55in Cinecittà, if I remember correctly,
10:58that famous old studio there.
11:00I mean, it was magical to be in Italy
11:02and every location that we went to.
11:04It was also a hard time in my life.
11:06My father and grandfather were both diagnosed with cancer
11:10while I was on this film,
11:11and so I felt also very far away and kind of helpless,
11:15and went into a bit of a downer while I was filming,
11:18as you can imagine,
11:19and went home for surgeries and stuff like that,
11:22so it was kind of like a heavy time as well.
11:26People say to me all the time,
11:26that must have been the best time,
11:28and I'm like, yes, and, you know,
11:32but it was sort of a particularly hard time
11:36in my life personally, I would say,
11:38but I loved making the film,
11:41and my best friend from seventh grade on,
11:44she was taking a work break,
11:45so she came and was my assistant
11:47for the whole time we had the best time.
11:50♪ I've been out walking ♪
12:08♪ I don't do too much talking these days ♪
12:14♪ These days ♪
12:18It's iconic, let's face it.
12:20I mean, Nico, it's such a perfect song, you know,
12:23for the scene.
12:25I didn't really realize that it was gonna be
12:29done in slow motion,
12:30and it was gonna be this like incredibly
12:32emotive, evocative moment.
12:34This is a complicated dynamic, right?
12:37It's like you have a brother and sister.
12:41Yes, she's adopted,
12:42but there's this clear romantic love between them.
12:47It's an unusual dynamic, I think, to explore.
12:50I do think that when something is impossible
12:53or when there are huge obstacles
12:55between people in fiction, in novels,
12:58and the longing that comes from that,
13:00it's a very powerful dynamic, I think,
13:02to watch as an audience.
13:04Stand up straight and let me get a look at you.
13:10What's so funny?
13:13I'm sorry.
13:15Well, it's nice to see you, too.
13:17You know, Wes is such an incredible director.
13:20He's so unique in the way that he tells stories
13:23and this love story.
13:25It's so emblematic of Wes and the way that he is able
13:29to find these incredibly creative and novel ways
13:34of expressing emotion.
13:36I loved playing Margot.
13:37I mean, she was so weird and awesome,
13:41and I just, I had such a good time being her,
13:46and there's that other makeout montage in the movie
13:52where you see how wild she actually is,
13:55but yet she's so contained and pulled together.
14:00That's what she presents.
14:02I don't know, she was rad.
14:03Dude, it's the Halloween costume that won't end.
14:07It's so funny.
14:08Every year, people send me, you know, like,
14:11oh, look what I see.
14:12It's like New York Street.
14:13Like, sometimes it's an eight-year-old girl.
14:16Sometimes it's, you know, sometimes it's a whole family
14:18dressed as the Tenenbaum.
14:19It's pretty great.
14:21I did not keep the fur coat.
14:22I mean, yeah, it was, or the Birkin bag, by the way, okay?
14:27They were very cheap, and they did not give me
14:30any presents at the end.
14:32I do have the penny loafers, though.
14:39Here's to my love.
14:41Oh, this one.
14:44True apothecary.
14:49My drugs are quick.
14:57That's with a kiss.
15:00He's doing some good poise in the acting.
15:03He's good.
15:04I did think the conceit of it to do a movie
15:07about the writing of Romeo and Juliet
15:09and seeing all of the, you know,
15:12romantic inspiration for it.
15:14I think there's just something so beautiful,
15:16but also everybody's on the inside of the joke
15:19because everybody knows the play.
15:21In language today, we reference Romeo and Juliet
15:23all the time, and I think it really is about romance
15:26and longing and true love and being in love with somebody
15:32that might not be the person that you get to end up with,
15:35and the pain in that.
15:44Where is my lord?
15:48I do remember well where I should be, and there I am.
15:51Where is my Romeo?
15:53This film was so much fun to make
15:55because the act of doing a play while you're being filmed,
16:00making a movie at the same time,
16:01is something that I don't think happens a lot.
16:04There are not a lot of movies about plays being made.
16:08Normally when you're doing a movie,
16:09you're just acting in front of, you know, like us here.
16:12It's just like a few people, a small crew.
16:15But for this, we were performing these scenes
16:17in front of a full house of people,
16:20so the energy was very electric in there,
16:24and we're trying to entertain everybody.
16:30You know, I've learned at this point to never say never.
16:33You always have these ideas about what you're gonna do
16:35or not do, or how you're gonna spend your time,
16:37and then life just throws you one curve ball after the next.
16:40So this film, Marty Supreme, that I finished recently,
16:45it kind of is a return to that mid-budget film
16:48that they used to make.
16:49It wasn't done on a shoestring.
16:50It was like a well-budgeted film,
16:53not like action movie kind of budget,
16:55but enough to make a beautiful period piece
16:59that takes place in the 50s in New York City
17:01and in London and in Japan.
17:04Josh Safdie, the director, called me
17:06and basically said he wanted me to do this film,
17:08and I was so, my head was so out of the game.
17:11I had really stepped away from pursuing acting full-time
17:16because I had kids, and I didn't wanna be on location
17:19and away from them.
17:20And, you know, I remember I was doing this movie,
17:22Country Strong, and I was missing bath time,
17:24and it was, I was like, you know, crying in my trailer,
17:29like, why am I missing, you know?
17:30They all went left and went to college,
17:32and my husband Brad and I found ourselves.
17:35We don't necessarily need to orient around our lives,
17:40you know, that quotidian daily,
17:42like that schedule that we had for since they started school.
17:46And I think we wanted to sort of index
17:48into that freedom a little bit,
17:50explore being on the East Coast a little bit.
17:52So it just kind of worked out.
17:54But again, my brother, who's an amazing filmmaker,
17:57was like, you're doing it.
17:58Just do, just say yes.
17:59Josh Safdie is incredible.
18:01Just do it.
18:02So basically, I guess my brother's responsible
18:05for all my important career moments,
18:07and that's what we're taking away from this today.
18:10And I don't know if I'll be doing more.
18:14I don't know.
18:15It depends on Goop and kind of if I can wriggle free
18:20to do another little part or not,
18:22but I don't know, TBD, we'll see.
18:25It was amazing to take this trip down memory lane,
18:27so thank you for that.
18:29I'm stunned at how my daughter and I
18:32are like the same person when I see myself
18:35in my early 20s.
18:36It's remarkable.
18:37I've been very blessed,
18:39and I've been able to travel all over the world
18:41and work with amazing people
18:43and do a few pieces of art that have some staying power.
18:48So that's, what more can you ask for?