Gwyneth Paltrow has dominated celebrity headlines recently due to her appearances in a Utah court this month after a retired eye doctor sued the Hollywood actress for a 2016 ski collision.
While the actress has spent time defending herself in court, the trial has sparked ‘unpleasant’ memories for journalist Dylan Jones – who recalled his “enervating experience” with Paltrow during an interview in the 1990s.
Despite her being only 25 at the time, the journalist expressed that her attitude still bothers him now.
“I could simply put her behaviour down to the arrogance of youth, although her attitude still rankles with me,” he wrote in a piece for The Times, titled: ‘I interviewed Gwyneth Paltrow once. Never Again.
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When Jones met with Paltrow for an interview she was already quite successful, having had the films Seven, Emma and Sliding Doors under her belt.
She was working on the 1998 hit Shakespeare in Love when the former GQ editor thought it would make for a good cover story for The Sunday Times, however Jones admitted the actress “could not have been less interested in talking” to him.
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“I got on a train and went down to interview a woman who was already destined to be a major movie star,” he shared. “But what a disappointment she turned out to be.”
Despite having a relatively good reputation at the time, the writer explained his experience was far from pleasant.
“As I walked into her trailer at Shepperton, she stayed sitting down, crossed her arms and didn’t even say hello,” Jones shared.
“In the space of a few seconds she managed to let me know that this wasn’t going to be a nice experience for either of us. And it wasn’t.”
The journalist detailed the struggle of interviewing the star who “uttered nothing but monosyllabic answers” and “gave a good impression of someone who’d rather be picking skewers out of her eyeballs” than talking to him.
“For me, it was an enervating experience so, after half an hour or so, I gave up,” he said.
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Realising he would have a hard time making a story out of her “six or seven word” answers, the interviewer did what any journalist would do and began asking the people who work around the star what she was like.
“I proceeded to interview everyone else on the set: the carpenters, the caterers, the sound guys, the chauffeurs, make-up girls, hairdressers, couriers – anyone I could find who had anything to do with her,” he explained.
“I simply asked everyone I met the same short question: “What’s she like?””
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The response was overwhelmingly negative. “Their answers – which were about 70 per cent negative – became the story,” he said.
“I remember one of the freelance drivers in particular. When I asked her what Gwyneth was like to work with, she shot back with, ‘Couldn’t tell you, mate. Walks around with her nose in the air. Looks like a snotty so-and-so to me.'”
Despite having interviewed multiple celebrities, this interview with Paltrow became quite notable for Jones.
“Over the years I have become accustomed to the bad behaviour of people in the entertainment industry,” he said. “I have obviously interviewed other difficult stars.”
“But in the main I’d say that most famous people I’ve met – and I’ve met hundreds and hundreds – are pretty decent, and usually take the publicity demands of their trade in their stride.”
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The columnist did not want to give up all hope for Paltrow redemption, but is still sore from the bland interaction.
“I reckon I’m a fairly easy person to charm, and if she had spent half an hour working her magic on me, or even just being polite, no doubt I would have come away thinking Gwyneth Paltrow was a born-again Audrey Hepburn. But she didn’t, so I didn’t,” he said.
“Then again, perhaps she’s a completely different person to the one I met in Surrey 25 years ago. In fact, I’m sure she is.”
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