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Gwyneth Paltrow Interview
Do you agree with the New York Times that ''Shakespeare'' is the best work of your career? I think that's true, although I think I did some interesting stuff in ''Sliding Doors,'' and I liked my work a lot in ''Hard Eight'' and ''Flesh and Bone.'' Otherwise, it was just tiny moments in movies here and there that I liked. There wasn't one whole role like this to sink my teeth into. What made ''Shakespeare'' different? I've never worked so hard on anything in my life. I was so spent to the bone every day. I was using everything that I had, not only because I was dealing with research of the period, but also I had to keep everything straight about whether I was a boy or a girl. And there was the matter of your mustache... Yes! I mean, physically it was challenging because there were so many hours getting ready, and the costumes were incredibly heavy. I don't think anyone [on the set] was convinced I was a 14-year-old boy. I had this big beanbag down my pants and this kind of swagger. When I walked around in costume, I usually just acted like a really effeminate guy. Looking back on another recent project, what happened with ''A Perfect Murder''? Well... You got the script and you thought... I got the script, and I thought it was really fun. With a movie like ''A Perfect Murder,'' my thinking was, this could be one of those movies you watch on Spectravision when you drive up to Santa Barbara for the weekend and get in a hotel and cuddle in bed. That sounded like fun. Looking back, there really wasn't anything to sink my teeth into. My role wasn't particularly interesting, but I wanted to work with Michael Douglas, and I had never done a big studio movie like that. I've done lots of these little movies, and, maybe people are seeing me as too precious. I just couldn't believe they wanted me in a big movie like that. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with doing a fun, Hollywood movie. Do I point to that one and I say, 'I'm really proud of my acting in that?' No. But I don't think it discredits me. It doesn't look as if Harvey Weinstein [at Miramax] wants you to do another big-studio movie anyway. I know. He's been good to me, but we definitely fight. We fight about money a lot. One day, he'll be saying we have to cut your price to do this kind of film, that it's an artistic movie; the next day, he'll be announcing that it's a $40 million co-production with Universal for which I've made about 10 cents to the dollar. Or we fight about artistic things. Sometimes he'll want to change something that would make the movie conceivably more commercial. Sometimes he's absolutely right, and sometimes he's absolutely wrong. Yet you've become the poster child for Miramax. In the beginning of my career, everybody else seemed like a complete Hollywood phony, but Harvey handed me scripts and said `I want to work with you.' He's a real movie maker and he can be brilliant. I definitely have a lot of respect for him. But, you know, if I want to pay rent, eventually I have to do another movie somewhere else. They're getting you a lot of publicity, that's for sure. I'm so sick of myself! I am sick of it. This is the last cover of a magazine [Entertainment Weekly] that I'm doing until I'm 30. I can't stand myself anymore. I'm so sick of my face, and my boring sound bites, my stupid interviews. The funny thing is, people still have the wrong image of me. Who do they think you are? They think I'm this very cool, stuck-up blonde. That I'm either classy or bitchy. In this culture, if you're smart and blonde, you're a bitch and you're cold and you're stuck up. But I am so goofy and I am so not what they think. Yet, I kind of like the fact that people perceive me differently, because I can keep the best parts of myself private for my friends and my family. [Two nervous fans approach Paltrow, who graciously signs an autograph for them.] Do you worry about never having privacy again? Some days. But I guess you only feel as exposed as you let yourself. So I've felt far more exposed in my life than I do now. I sort of learned how to keep what I need to keep to myself, and I learned how to feel like my own person, since it's possible that my every thought can be documented somewhere. Do you ever use your celebrity status? Of course, sometimes. Your friends will call the hot restaurant and say, 'Do you have any tables for two tonight?' and they'll say no. Then, I'll call back and get them, or they'll just mention my name and we're in. It's not fair, but I have to figure, there's got to be some payback for having people watch how much you eat and how you chew and if your napkin is on your lap, and asking you for autographs throughout your dinner. And you've been doubly watched because you've been in such a high-profile relationships [with Brad Pitt and now Ben Affleck]. Does it bother you when people ask you about those relationships? No, it doesn't make me uncomfortable at all. When I get together with my girlfriends, they want to know, 'Who are you going out with now? And what's he like?' And I ask everyone the same questions, you know. So it's not that I'm offended or feel like, 'How dare these pedestrian people want to know about it.' I mean, of course they do. So do I; so do you. But I just have to -- for myself -- not talk about it, because it's... it's my thing. You start to let people in, and absolutely no good can come of it. None. Why do people feel like they have the right to pry into your personal life? People feel like they know me in a certain way. They have some jurisdiction because they pay to see my movies, or they liked me before I was really famous or whatever it may be. They have a personal tie to me, and they have an interest like you would have an interest in something personal to you. I understand that completely. It sounds like you're treating the situation differently now than when you were with Brad. I feel like it's an organized philosophy now. I said things about being in a relationship that felt wrong to me even as I was saying them. I was more concerned about hurting the reporter's feelings or coming off as being overly self-protective. It wasn't about whether I wanted to say more. But you always learn, unless you're an idiot. You always learn from the previous experiences. Are there people whose lives you're fascinated with? Well, this Christmas party [Ben and I] were at last night was a perfect little situation. It was in Santa Monica canyon. The fire was going, and I thought, 'It's so nice. These are such good people.' The couple who was hosting it, producer friends of ours, are so smart. Really responsible, kind people with good hearts. They have this sweet house, and good friends, and they get to come home to each other every night, and they're not in some random hotel room somewhere eating room service by themselves. And, you know, I'd like something resembling that. When I see young guys with their babies, I love that. I love young families. I think it has a lot to do with the biological animalistic aspects to my life. When I'm 50-years-old, and if I've raised my kids and they're out of college or in college, I may get the bug to start going out on the road. But right now, I'd like to nest, to stay in the same place for a while. But you still have some movies left in you. Would you like to try something radically different, like an action movie? Honestly, that doesn't appeal to me. I would never say I'd never do an action movie, but I can't see myself packing a weapon right now. Maybe it was be interesting to play a cartoony thing. I'd like to do a Cat Woman-y kind of role. That would be fun. Do you get offered scripts like that? I get offered a lot of period films. Does that worry you? I just hope that people don't get possessive of me that way. Like how they get over the sweetheart type of girl. It's hard when you see an actor or actress you respect, like Julia Roberts, continuously being asked to play the same role because that's what the American people demand. If your latest period role wins an Oscar, will that fulfill one of your wildest dreams? It's not really something I think about. Sure, as a kid, you're like, `Wow, I wonder what that would be like to be nominated or to win.' But I never did the `thank you' thing in front of the mirror, and it's certainly not a goal. If it was, I would be in need of some serious psychotherapy. It shouldn't be the focus. It shouldn't be the goal. I work my ass off, and just having my parents come to the screening, like they did the other night, and seeing them both cry at the end; to me, that was all I needed. On the other hand, does criticism bother you? Have you heard there are some anti-Gwyneth websites? No. I haven't. There's a side of everyone that thinks people are going to sort of pick on you, and the more successful you are, the worse it gets, you know? But a part of me also thinks that these are just mean-spirited people who don't know me, and I laugh it off. If I looked too closely at it all, it might hurt my feelings. Sometimes, ignoring it is better. You've said you're a big believer in self-improvement. How do you apply that in your own life? I read things that make my mind feel clearer. That make me feel less complicated, that get the junk out of my mind so I can really see where I am. For a long time I didn't know who I was. I didn't know what was important to me. I'm just in the last year or so feeling like I started to figure it out. I read a lot of poetry. e.e. cummings, A.E. Housman, ''Leaves of Grass.'' I think that Whitman really understands what it is to be tiny and unimportant. I also do yoga. Madonna and I have the same yoga teacher. It all sounds so good. Do you have maybe one vice? Let's see. One vice, one vice... Okay, how about fried foods? I love them. Fried clams, fried shrimp. I feel better already! Oh man, I love them. Fried popcorn shrimp. Anything tempura. Let's see, fried eggplant, fried chicken, fried potatoes. Let's eat! |
