AwardsWatch - Interview: Gwyneth Paltrow on “Boys and Their Toys,” goop, and Returning to the Silver Screen for ‘Marty Supreme’

When news broke that Josh Safdie was developing Marty Supreme, his solo outing based on the life of table tennis star Marty Reisman, there were numerous production details to inspire excitement. The project starred a hungry young movie star in the lead role in Timothée Chalamet, boasted an incredible roster of veteran crew members like production designer Jack Fisk, cinematographer Darius Khondji and composter Daniel Lopatin, and served as a test for Safdie as he and his filmmaking partner and brother, Benny, decided to go their separate ways. But perhaps none of these details were as intriguing as Gwyneth Paltrow’s return to the big screen after a bit of a semi-retirement.

Paltrow’s film career began in the ‘90s, a decade that made her a Hollywood icon. Within a fifteen-year period, she starred in nearly thirty feature films that included Se7en, Hard Eight, Emma, Great Expectations, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Proof, and The Royal Tenenbaums, with her effervescent performance in Shakespeare in Love earning her a Golden Globe, SAG Award, BAFTA, and the Academy Award for Best Actress. With an ability to channel a modern spin on the Hitchcock Blonde, a series of high-profile relationships, and an impeccable sense of style, Paltrow was the kind of movie star that often feels difficult to imagine in today’s landscape. Into the late 2000s and 2010s, Paltrow shifted her focus away from the movie business, save a few sporadic appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She did channel her abilities as a singer, though, starring in Country Strong and, of course, Glee, where her role as Holly Holliday earned her an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Since 2008, Paltrow has been busy running her much-discussed lifestyle and beauty brand, goop (more on that later), but with her two children, Apple and Moses, off to college, she felt the time was right to dabble back into acting.

Marty Supreme feels like the perfect homecoming for Paltrow. In the film, she plays Kay Stone, a former Hollywood starlet who traded her acting career for financial security when she married the wealthy ink industrialist, Milton Rockwell. The film highlights a period of intense change for Kay as she returns to the stage and begins an affair with the much younger, less established Marty. Paltrow is excellent in the role, imbuing Kay with a quiet sadness and a risky spirit. It will call to mind some of her finest work from the early years of her career, while also showcasing an exciting next step for the actress. I was thrilled to speak with Paltrow just ahead of the film’s Los Angeles premiere earlier this month about her return to the big screen, Kay’s relationships with the men in her orbit, and the item that her character needs from the goop gift guides.

Sophia Ciminello: Hi Gwyneth, thank you for speaking with me today. I’m so excited you’re back on the big screen with this great movie.

Gwyneth Paltrow: Thank you, Sophia. That’s very kind of you to say.

SC: When did you first learn about Marty Supreme, and what made you say yes to this project and role?

GP: Yeah, I think I first learned about it in the early Spring of 2024. Is that right? No, it can’t be (laughs). What year? Yeah, 2024, I think? It was about nine months before we started filming, I want to say. Josh actually came to my house, and we sat and talked. You know, my brother, who’s a filmmaker, had told me how talented and amazing Josh was. I was kind of focused on other things for a couple of years and I wasn’t so ensconced in the film world and I kind of missed a lot. So, I watched Uncut Gems and his work and I was just like, “Oh my gosh, this guy is like properly amazing”. And then it just worked out life-wise, you know, my kids all went to college and I felt like it would be an interesting time to go back to New York for the Fall. It was just one of those things that was like a happy coming together.

SC: And when we first see Kay, she’s at the Ritz in London and she looks so glamorous. It’s very 1950s Dior, and she has that great manicure, too.

GP: Yes, she does!

SC: Was there a particular costume or detail that really helped you find your way into the character?

GP: Well, you mentioned the nails. That was really…I was obsessed with those nails.

SC: They’re amazing.

GP: You know, I didn’t know this, but the reason that they left the moons exposed is that red nail polish used to contain lead, and that’s the most porous part of the nail.

SC: Oh, wow. I’ve seen that manicure style in movies from this time before, and I had no idea that that was why.

GP: Yes! Right? So, it’s like little things like that that, I don’t know, just help you get into the mindset. And my costumes were so incredible. And I always feel like that’s really part of the battle, you know? Like, how do you stand in the shoes? What does your waist feel like? What do your shoulders feel like? How does the wig feel? And it just really helps me get into it. And in this movie, Miyako [Bellizzi], our costume designer, is so incredible. So, I just felt like it was a really helpful tool to really understand and to go back in time. You knew what it was really like with the sets, too. Everything was so perfect. It was period, but it felt also not at all pastiche. It felt so authentic everywhere you looked, which was so cool.

SC: You’re right. It’s set in the ‘50s, but it doesn’t feel stuffy or pastiche. It has a more contemporary feel to it.

GP: Right, exactly.

SC: When we first hear your character on the phone, too, we see the contrast between these two men in her life right away. There’s something really intriguing to her about Marty. What do you think makes her say yes to that first invitation to go watch him in the semi-finals?

GP: I think it’s a few things. I mean, I think in that scene, you see that she’s in a completely loveless marriage. I think she’s bored and I think she can tell on the phone that this kid reminds her of her, you know, this relentless and kind of self-aggrandizement and self-belief. I think she must have been like that when she was younger. And I think she’s just intrigued. I think it’s also just one of those weird things where he catches her on the right day, where she’s probably jet-lagged in London or on some stupid thing with her husband and she’s like, “Okay, you know, I’m going to go.” And I love how when we meet her, she’s sort of ice cold. And then you can see the ice breaking a little and she kind of ends up almost with this girlishness, you know, where they’re running through the park. And I love that he, in my view, sort of breathes this life back into her, which I think she can sense in that very first phone call.

SC: I love that too. And you have a great line delivery in how you say “ping pong” and “pens” very similarly.

GP: (Laughs) Oh, yes. Very pointed. Both names.

SC: (Laughs) Right. It almost puts them on an even playing field in that moment.

GP: Exactly. Boys and their toys…

SC: I read that your Mom group chats were blowing up when the set photos with Timothée came out…

GP: (Laughs) Oh, big time!

SC: Have you shown them the movie yet? I feel like if they had that reaction to the set photos, it has to be even wilder when they see the movie.

GP: None of them have seen it yet! But tonight’s the LA Premiere, and I have a couple of friends going with me. My best friend from the mom chat is coming, so she’s going to represent (laughs).

SC: Oh, I’m sure she’ll love it. What was it like working so closely with Timothée on the film?

GP: You know, it was great. He’s very professional and serious-minded. He’s a real prepper. Not in the world is ending sense, but he’s just so prepared. He learned to play the guitar for the Dylan movie (A Complete Unknown), like he learned to play table tennis. He’s very very dedicated and takes it very seriously. It’s great to see.

SC: There’s a scene between the two of you in the hotel room where you can really feel the differences between Marty and Kay’s life experiences. How do you think she feels hearing how he reacts to the possibility of his dream not working out? Especially, knowing that she’s given up on her dream earlier in life.

GP: I think that’s why she’s sort of angry in that scene. And I mean, he’s being a dick, but also, that bravado that he has and the sort of certainty. And I think she knows all too well that you can have that bravado and certainty, but life is just a far bumpier road than that. And I think, you know, she is annoyed by his hubris, but also that it didn’t work out for her either. She has turned her back on something. I think in my mind, it was a choice that she regretted, that she turned her back on the true essence of who she was for financial security. And I think she’s angry.

SC: You can really feel that anger from her there, when she calls him “disgusting.” There’s something deeper going on there.

GP: Definitely. And you know, she’s obviously so heartbroken. And when we don’t deal with our sadness, that turns to anger.

SC: There’s a great line when Marty visits Kay’s rehearsal, and she says, “He’s nobody. That’s the point.” Even though it’s about him giving feedback on the scene in that moment, I felt like it’s also the aspect that keeps Kay interested in their transactional relationship.

GP: Yeah, exactly, it’s also extremely risky behavior on her part, right? If you think about who is safe to have an extramarital affair with, it’s not a single unknown hustler, random kid, you know? I think that says quite a lot about her. She has very low risk-aversion, which is really interesting to me. And I think that his spirit, when he goes on stage and he’s acting all crazy, shows that she likes his risky behavior. She likes her own risky behavior. They end up almost doing it in Central Park! I mean, that’s risky for a famous person.

SC: And it’s almost like it doesn’t quite hit her just how risky or how complicated that can be until they’re caught.

GP: Exactly!

SC: I also love the moment when we see Kay’s first performance on stage, and we see her smile when she reacts to that applause. What do you think being back on that stage means to her in that moment?

GP: I think it’s kind of a defibrillator for her. You know, you see what that applause means to her and how validating it is in that moment. What I was trying to convey in that moment, in this split second, is that I have and I can see a new life.

SC: And how does it feel now for you that people are going to start seeing this movie and that it’s going to be out in the world?

GP: I mean, I’m really excited. I think it’s a really good movie and I’m really proud of it. I’m proud to be in it. And, you know, I think we’re at sort of an interesting time to say the least in entertainment, where this movie reminded me of something that would have been made in the ‘90s, when we made films that were more complicated for adults. I hope there’s an audience for it. I think there have been a lot of really fantastic movies this year and I just hope that people commit to going to the cinema in person and keeping this beautiful art form alive and as a viable business model, because it’s so important for our culture. And as the United States, we’ve always exported culture and if everything is being determined by an algorithm, it’s very hard to create culture in my view. So I hope that people like it and go see it.

SC: I hope so too. To wrap up, I have to tell you that I always enjoy following along with your goop holiday gift guides every year.

GP: Oh, thank you!

SC: If you could give Kay something from one of your gift guides, what would you pick for her?

GP: Now that is a good question. Well, I don’t know if we have it on there this year, but one year we had a whiskey subscription box. I feel like she might need that, you know, after her review comes out, she might need her monthly whiskey (laughs).

SC: (Laughs) Oh, that’s perfect. And Marty needs the exfoliator even more than he needs her anniversary necklace.

GP: (Laughs) Oh, Marty needs the whole goop skincare routine for sure.

SC: He really does. Well, thank you so much, and congratulations on the movie.

GP: Thank you very much.

Marty Supreme is currently in limited release from A24 and goes wide on December 25.

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Sophia Ciminello

Sophia is a lifelong film enthusiast who considers herself a scholar of Best Actress winners, the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, and 1970s cinema. She hosts and produces the podcast "Oscar Wild," where she celebrates her love of cinema with retrospectives, deep dives on all 23 Oscar categories, and interviews with directors and creatives. She thanks her mother for her love of Old Hollywood and her father for letting her stay up late to watch the Oscars when she was in preschool. Her favorite Best Picture winners are All About Eve and Ordinary People. You can follow her on Twitter @sophia_cim.

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