Gwyneth Paltrow Says Divorce Fallout Cost Her a Film Role
Gwyneth Paltrow has disclosed she lost a film role after her split from Chris Martin, citing the impact of negative press. The identity of the project remains a mystery.
It’s been a decade since Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s so-called “conscious uncoupling” became the talk of the tabloids, and now Paltrow has shared that the aftermath went beyond headlines. The Oscar winner, who shares two children with the Coldplay frontman, recently revealed she was dropped from a film in the wake of their high-profile separation. The pair, who married in 2003, have since moved on—Paltrow is now married to Brad Falchuk, known for his work on American Horror Story.
During a chat with Amy Poehler on the Good Hang podcast, Paltrow recounted how the media storm following her divorce had professional consequences.
“I was supposed to do a movie at one point, and it was right after the kind of 'conscious uncoupling' thing with Chris. There was a lot of harsh stuff in the press, and I think the distributor was like, 'I think this might be too hot to touch.'”
Poehler, who’s had her own share of public scrutiny, responded,
“They were like, 'We don't need the heat,'”
prompting Paltrow to quip,
“Yeah. So, that was great, because I was getting a divorce and then I got fired. It was so awesome.”
The title of the film in question, however, remains under wraps.
Life After the Headlines
Despite the setback, Paltrow’s career has hardly stalled. She’s currently in the thick of awards season, promoting the A24 drama Marty Supreme. Directed by Josh Safdie, the film stars Timothée Chalamet as a ping-pong prodigy from New York’s Lower East Side. Paltrow takes on the role of Kay Stone, who embarks on an affair with Chalamet’s character, Marty Mauser, while married to Milton Rockwell.
In a recent interview, Paltrow discussed her approach to filming intimate scenes, revealing that she and Chalamet opted out of using an intimacy coordinator—a role that’s become standard in the industry since the #MeToo movement.
“We said, 'I think we're good. You can step a little bit back. 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.”
She admitted she only learned about the coordinator’s presence when asked about her comfort level with a particular scene.
“Girl, I'm from the era where you get naked, you get in bed, the camera's on,”
she remarked, with a hint of nostalgia.
On-Set Anecdotes and Unfiltered Moments
Paltrow wasn’t the only one to forgo the usual protocols. Kevin O’Leary, who plays Milton, shared that Chalamet insisted on performing his own stunts for a rather memorable scene. The director, Josh Safdie, reportedly required 40 takes to capture the perfect shot of a bare-bottomed paddle sequence.
“Josh was saying, 'You've got to wind up harder.' I was really whacking him.”
O’Leary recalled, suggesting the pursuit of authenticity sometimes comes at the expense of comfort.
While the identity of the film Paltrow lost remains a mystery, her willingness to discuss the professional fallout from her personal life offers a rare glimpse into the less glamorous side of celebrity. Even for those at the top of their game, public perception can have a very real impact on what happens behind the scenes.