The Real Reason Gwyneth Paltrow Forgets What Marvel Movies She's In
Gwyneth Paltrow has spent plenty of time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but her memories seem to be a little shaky.
The Academy Award-winning actress, who played Pepper Potts opposite Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark across seven Marvel movies, has admitted that she hasn't seen many of the Marvel movies she's been in — namely 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming. She spilled the fact to late-night host Jimmy Kimmel during a recent interview.
For a little backstory, Paltrow made waves regarding her role in Spider-Man: Homecoming — for which she received top billing, even beating out Aunt May actress Marisa Tomei for the fourth credit — after she infamously argued with MCU co-star Jon Favreau during the inaugural episode of his Netflix series The Chef Show about whether or not she was in the movie. Paltrow seemed a little confused about the entire situation — at one point during the episode, she asked what the Chef Show segment they were filming was even "for," and it seems borderline impossible that nobody would have told her — but it was undeniably funny when she insisted that she never appeared in Homecoming, despite Favreau's assurances that she definitely did. (In case you're somehow wondering who was right, Paltrow was definitely in the movie.)
During her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Paltrow confessed that not only does she not recall appearing in Homecoming, but she also hasn't ever sat down and watched it. The reason why? She she simply got "confused" because "there are so many of these wonderful Marvel, interconnecting movies," and she thought that her role in the Spider-Man movie was actually for one of the Avengers films.
"I never actually saw the movie," she stated, quickly adding, "I mean, wait, cut that out! Take that back!"
In response, Kimmel joked that he doesn't expect the busy actress to stay up-to-date on superhero movies, even ones that she's in: "You're Gwyneth Paltrow, you shouldn't be watching Spider-Man. It would upset people if you had."
Spider-Man: Homecoming isn't the only Marvel movie Paltrow has been in that she's never even seen. In an interview with Elle, the Pepper Potts actress revealed that she's skipped watching a lot of Marvel films, since the franchise is so big, there are so many superheroes to keep track of, and she has other priorities in life. Her confusion and busy life has led her to not watch very many Marvel movies, which, in turn, has made Paltrow totally forget which MCU films she's starred in.
"It is confusing because there are so many Marvel movies, and to be honest, I haven't seen very many of them," said Paltrow. "It's really stupid and I'm sorry, but I'm a 47-year-old mother."
You know nothing, Gwyneth Paltrow
It isn't all that surprising to hear that Paltrow forgot that she appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming, or that she's been confused by the MCU as a whole and that's why she can't remember starring in the movies. At this point, it might be easier to list things that Paltrow does remember. During her recent public appearances, the actress has seemed pretty forgetful about her co-stars, roles, and a plethora of other topics.
For starters, Paltrow apparently doesn't know who current Spider-Man star Tom Holland is — a fact she made clear in an Instagram post where she celebrated co-star Robert Downey Jr.'s birthday. She, Downey Jr., and Holland appear in the photo Paltrow posted — and though she tagged Downey Jr.'s Instagram account in the caption, she simply referred to Holland as "that other guy in the photo." Considering Paltrow and Holland have shot a number of scenes together (like Tony Stark's death in Avengers: Endgame), her not remembering Holland's name or role in the MCU has got to be hurtful for the young actor.
Holland isn't the only MCU star that Paltrow has publicly forgotten about. During Marvel movie press events, she has snubbed Bucky Barnes actor Sebastian Stan, and while on set, she has failed to remember who Nick Fury star Samuel L. Jackson is. When it comes to poor Stan, she's forgotten him multiple times, having asked who Stan was on a red carpet and getting called out by Bucky Barnes himself in an Instagram post after he introduced himself to her three separate times. As for Jackson, well, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige previously spilled that Paltrow was "asking why Sam Jackson was there" when they were filming a scene for Avengers: Endgame together. He recalled, "The other actors were jumping in saying, 'What are you talking about? He's Nick Fury! You've been in movies with him!'" Jackson hasn't responded to Paltrow's forgetfulness, but one can only imagine how profane the bombastic actor's response might be.
During the same Kimmel interview in which Paltrow told the truth about whether or not she'd bothered to watch Spider-Man: Homecoming, she was also caught off guard when presented with products from her lifestyle brand and online store, Goop, which sells everything from martini bath salts to a water bottle that has an amethyst inside of it, for some inexplicable reason. Throughout Kimmel's presentation, Paltrow seems positively puzzled over the vast majority of the products, leading viewers to wonder if she's ever looked at Goop's inventory at all.
It might seem absurd that Paltrow just forgets everything from her acting credits to her own merchandise, but at the very least, the star is providing plenty of amusing press clips for her huge variety of projects — such a huge variety, in fact, that it seems impossible for her to remember them all.