Some Gwyneth Paltrow fans may be wondering what the long-celebrated actress is up to right now. The Oscar winner has not been seen on TV since 2020 and season 2 of the Netflix series ‘The Politician’, in which she had a supporting role. It was even longer ago in the cinema. “Avengers 4: Endgame” (2019) was her last appearance there to date. Is the star of ‘Seven’, ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ and ‘Shakespeare In Love’ no longer getting offers for roles? Hard to believe.
In fact, this is not the reason for the absence of the Californian from our screens and screens. Already in the summer of 2017, two years after her last leading role to date alongside Johnny Depp in “Mortdecai – The Part-Time Crook”, Paltrow announced on the “Today” show that she would almost completely withdraw from the entertainment industry. But not to go on holiday or relax in any other way. On the contrary. Paltrow simply has other things on her mind – namely her new job: “I’ll film a little bit here and there, but this really takes up almost all my time,” she said on the American breakfast television show at the time. .
We talk about Goop, Inc., a wellness and lifestyle company founded and CEO by Paltrow that started in 2008 with a weekly newsletter. From the new-age life and the daily advice it spread, the whole developed into a commercial company that sells self-produced beauty, health and fashion products, as well as food, clothing and many other things via the Internet and in its own stores. A magazine and podcasts are also published. In 2020, the company was the subject of a documentary series on Netflix, ‘The Goop Lab’.
Only a man could convince her to make a comeback
Back in 2018, the company was valued at $250 million. Since Paltrow is involved in all kinds of activities, it is no surprise that she no longer finds time to make films. However, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight in November 2023, she said that there was only one (former) colleague who could perhaps persuade her to return to the camera.
“Well, it would be very difficult for me to act right now, just because of my job,” Paltrow explained. “But I think Robert Downey Jr. can probably still get me back.” She added with a laugh, “At least to some extent.”
Paltrow and Downey Jr. became close friends when they appeared together in Iron Man 1-3 and several other MCU blockbusters. Paltrow played Pepper Potts, the assistant and love interest of the title character played by Downey Jr.
Even before their first filming together, Paltrow was a big fan of mime. Looking back on her first collaboration, ‘Iron Man’, she admitted that she took the role mainly because of him: ‘It had nothing to do with the size of the budget or the fee… I just always wanted to be with Robert Downey to work. Jr. “He’s a genius, but I’ve never been asked to film with him before,” Paltrow told the magazine in 2007 .
So far, Downey Jr., who recently hit theaters with a brilliant performance in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” hasn’t spoken out on the matter — at least not publicly. It remains to be seen whether we will actually see the duo on screen together again. But it would certainly be interesting to see the two together again. Maybe even in a completely different story context – perhaps in an intense drama or in a light, casual comedy. They would certainly harmonize wonderfully.
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