Kissing in Central Park is just the beginning of what Gwyneth Paltrow and Timothée Chalamet have in store for moviegoers with Marty Supreme.
Last fall, paparazzi photos of the two stars smooching on the set of their ping-pong movie sent the internet into a tizzy — and not just because it revealed 29-year-old Chalamet’s mustachioed face. But according to Paltrow, 52, Josh Safdie’s upcoming A24 film gets much steamier from there.
“We have a lot of sex in this movie,” Paltrow teased to Vanity Fair. “There’s a lot—a lot.“
Penned by Safdie and Ronald Bronstein — with Safdie directing — Marty Supreme focuses on the life and career of a ping-pong player in pursuit of greatness. Details have otherwise been scarce, though Paltrow did offer some insight into her role in the story.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Timothée Chalamet on the set of ‘Marty Supreme’ on Oct. 16, 2024 in New York City. Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
“This woman who is married to someone who is in the ping-pong mafia,” she said of her character, explaining that despite her own entanglements in the ping-pong world, she’ll fall into bed with Chalamet’s Marty, and that connection will have a lasting impact on them both.
“They meet and she’s had a pretty tough life, and I think he breathes life back into her,” Paltrow added. “But it’s kind of transactional for them both.”
As for working alongside Chalamet, Paltrow had nothing but praise for the two-time Oscar nominee.
“He’s such a thinking man’s sex symbol. He’s just a very polite, properly raised— I was going to say kid,” she said, then corrected herself. “He’s a man who takes his work really seriously and is a fun partner.”
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Speaking of that partnership, Paltrow shared that filming her intimate scenes with Chalamet introduced her to the concept of an intimacy coordinator — but ultimately, the duo were comfortable enough to ask their coordinator to take a step back.
“There’s now something called an intimacy coordinator, which I did not know existed,” Paltrow admitted, adding that when asked if she’d be okay with a particular move, she replied, “‘Girl, I’m from the era where you get naked, you get in bed, the camera’s on.'”
Gwyneth Paltrow and Timothee Chalamet. XNY/Star Max/GC Images
Intimacy coordinators have emerged as a crucial role in Hollywood and theater in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Paltrow herself played a part in ushering in major changes to the industry, as a key figure in the 2017 New York Times investigation that exposed decades of abuse by Harvey Weinstein. SAG-AFTRA, the labor union representing actors and others in the entertainment industry now advocates for intimacy coordinators to be hired in scenes involving nudity or simulated sex or upon request for other intimate and hyper-exposed scenes.
When it came to Marty Supreme, Paltrow said she and Chalamet made a joint decision not to rely too heavily on their intimacy coordinator.
“We said, ‘I think we’re good. You can step a little bit back,'” Paltrow 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,’ I would feel, as an artist, very stifled by that.”
Paltrow made it clear that she has no problem laughing off the intimate scenes, joking that she cut right to the chase when it came time to establish a dynamic with Chalamet: “I was like, ‘Okay, great. I’m 109 years old. You’re 14.'”
