Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow has finally addressed her decision to decline filming an intimate scene with her ‘Great Expectations’ co-star Ethan Hawke.
The 53-year-old Paltrow and 55-year-old Hawke recently reminisced about their first encounter almost three decades after sharing the screen in the 1998 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel. The actress revealed that director Alfonso Cuaron had proposed a sex scene, which she ultimately refused, as reported by ‘People’ magazine.
In a video for Vanity Fair, Hawke asked, “Do you remember Alfonso pitching you the love scene?”
Paltrow responded, “Oh, my God,” before elaborating that Cuaron suggested a scene where her character would receive oral sex from Hawke’s character. She candidly shared, “I was like, ‘Oh, my God, my father’s going to have a heart attack.’”
Hawke recalled Cuaron describing the scene, saying, “‘The camera is going to go down your belly, and then it’s going to go up your breasts, and then it’s going to go in your face as you reach ecstasy. And then when you reach ecstasy, the light will explode like the sun.’”
He noted how Paltrow reacted, stating, “And I remember looking at Gwyneth, and Gwyneth is like, ‘Alfonso, I’m never going to do that,’” which made Paltrow laugh.
Reflecting on her early career, the Goop entrepreneur admitted feeling “really self-conscious about my dad and grandfather seeing this kind of stuff.” She expressed that it “really bothered me,” adding, “Now, I wouldn’t care.”
Hawke praised Paltrow’s approach to the situation, describing her as firm but not “petulant.” He said, “You had an awareness of the way that the business works, and the ways in which those kinds of images could be manipulated and what it meant to your dad.”
Paltrow pondered if she was “too prudish in the moment,” to which Hawke confidently responded, “I don’t think you were.” She concluded, “I was definitely worried about it.”