Gwyneth Paltrow refused to work with an intimacy coordinator for her latest movie – even though she and Timothée Chalamet filmed “a lot of sex.”
In October, the 52-year-old actor turned heads when she was filming a passionate kissing scene with Chalamet in New York City, for Josh Safdie’s new movie, Marty Supreme. However, according to Paltrow, that moment was only one of many intimate scenes in her project.
“I mean, we have a lot of sex in this movie,” she said during an interview with Vanity Fair, published on Tuesday. “There’s a lot—a lot.”
When asked if she was put in “a lot of vulnerable positions with” Chalamet for the movie, Paltrow replied: “Beyond.”
She noted that while working on this movie, she learned that the process of filming a sex scene now was different than it was years ago.
“There’s now something called an intimacy coordinator, which I did not know existed,” she said.
Gwyneth Paltrow was spotted filming a steamy kissing scene with Timothèe Chalamet in October. (Getty Images)
Paltrow explained that when Marty Supreme’s intimacy coordinator asked her if she was comfortable with doing a certain move, she responded: “Girl, I’m from the era where you get naked, you get in bed, the camera’s on.”
However, the Iron Man star ultimately decided that working with the intimacy coordinator wasn’t necessary for her.
“We said, ‘I think we’re good. You can step a little bit back,’” she recalled. “I don’t know how it is for kids who are starting out, but…if someone is like, ‘Okay, and then he’s going to put his hand here’ ”—she lays a milky-manicured hand on her own shoulder—“I would feel, as an artist, very stifled by that.”
She quipped about doing so many sex scenes with Chalamet, adding: “I was like, ‘Okay, great. I’m 109 years old. You’re 14.’”
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Still, Paltrow acknowledged how much she enjoyed working with the Dune star, calling him “a thinking man’s sex symbol.”
“He’s just a very polite, properly raised, I was going to say kid,” she said, before correcting herself. “He’s a man who takes his work really seriously and is a fun partner.”
Along with Chalamet, Paltrow’s sports drama — expected to be released in December — has a star-studded cast, including Fran Drescher, Tyler, the Creator, and Abel Ferrara. Paltrow plays the wife of Marty Reisman (portrayed by Chalamet), a professional table tennis player who won the US men’s singles championships in 1958 and 1960.
“This woman is married to someone who is in the Ping-Pong mafia, as it were,” Safdie told Vanity Fair. “They meet and she’s had a pretty tough life, and I think he breathes life back into her, but it’s kind of transactional for them both.”
The viral kissing photos from October showed Paltrow pushed up against a brick wall with Chalamet cradling her face. The Call Me By Your Name lead appeared to have surprised Paltrow’s character with the passionate kiss in the scene, moving her from the middle of the street to the wall. Photos also showed the wellness mogul shoving Chalamet as she looked away from the camera.
According to Paltrow, those kissing photos even made it to her friends’ group chat. “You’re trying to have this scene, and it’s a private moment, and there are paparazzi,” she said during an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in November. “And then all of my mom group texts were fire. It was pretty funny.”
During the interview, she also credited her brother, Jake, and her daughter Apple — who she shares with ex-husband Chris Martin — for helping her return to the entertainment industry. This film marks Paltrow’s return to Hollywood after a five-year hiatus
“My brother, who’s a filmmaker, was like ‘This is a great director and you should meet with him,’ and I did, and he was so nice,” she told Jimmy Fallon at the time. “And when Apple found out Timothée Chalamet was in it, that sealed the deal.”
