Gwyneth Paltrow Dishes About Iron Man 3 #IronMan3Event

***Disclosure: I received an all expense paid trip to Hollywood from Disney and Marvel to cover the Iron Man 3 premiere. However, all opinions are 100% honest and have not been influenced in any way.***

Okay, so if there is an actress that has become a household name over the years, it's definitely Gwyneth Paltrow. She is the true definition of a star, and has been in tons of box office hits like "Shallow Hal" , "Seven", "Shakespeare In Love" and period pieces like "Emma". Most recently, this busy mom of two has been portraying Pepper Potts, the strong, yet compassionate leading lady of Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.)  in Disney/Marvel's blockbuster Iron Man series.

If making amazing films isn't enough, Gwyneth is also a published author and just launched her brand new cookbook, "It's All Good." (Check back on May 10, 2013 for more talk with Gywneth and loads of info about this book!)

While I was in Hollywood for the Iron Man 3 red carpet premiere, Gwyneth Paltrow was kind and gracious enough to meet with our group personally for an intimate interview. (How cool is that?!) She met us in the fabulous East Ballroom of  our hotel, the Sheraton at Universal City, on the very day of the premiere. I remember being rather impressed that Gwyneth took so much time out of her busy schedule to talk with us....Especially when she could have been in hair and make-up, getting ready for her red carpet premiere. Then again, Gwyneth is so beautiful in person, she doesn't need much help in that department!

When Gwyneth arrived, she swung open the double doors to the East Ballroom, and she was all smiles. She belted out a very enthusiastic, "Hi Guys!", and she sat down and started chatting with us. To be completely honest, our interview was supposed to last a mere 15 minutes, but Gwyneth talked to us for about double that amount of time. And she was real. Genuine. Gracious. And yes, she talks like a normal person....Swear words and all. Some people say that she is pretentious, but honestly, I didn't detect that at all. Talking to Gwyneth was like talking to a girlfriend. Who just happens to have a really awesome job. It was quite refreshing, and I can see why she was just recently dubbed People Magazine's World's Most Beautiful Woman.

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Speaking of....This is one of the first things we talked about with Gwyneth. We offered her our congratulations and wanted to hear her thoughts on receiving this amazing title, especially at 40 years old. That's right...This stunning creature is 40. Can you believe it?  I think her timeless beauty comes naturally, since she really shines from the inside-out. And yes, good genes don't hurt, either! But with parents like Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner, she was bound to be stunning from birth.

Anyway, let's get to the good stuff. We spent about half an hour just candidly chatting with Gwyneth Paltrow, and here is what she had to tell us. (Look for part 2 of our interview on May 10, 2013)

On Being The World's Most Beautiful Woman :

Q: How did you feel when you were picked to be on the cover of People Magazine’s Most Beautiful issue?

Gwyneth Paltrow: Honestly, Steven, this man who has been my publicist since I was, like, nineteen years old, (pointing to the man next to her)  sent me the email and I was, like, this is a typo, like I reread it three times, and then I got this really weird old feeling that my school bully had somehow was playing a trick on me. I swear, I had to talk about it with my shrink! And then I went through this whole weird thing...But Steven told me "Yes, it's true!" And I was like, beyond surprised, flattered, and I still kinda can’t believe it. it’s really cool.

Talking About Pepper Potts With Gwyneth :

Anyone who has seen the Iron Man movies is quite familiar with Pepper Potts. She is the sweet, compassionate, though strong partner of Tony Stark AKA Iron Man. (Robert Downey, Jr.) Well, get ready to see a much different side of Ms. Potts in Iron Man 3. While Pepper retains her overall sweetness, she is catapulted into an unexpected role of power as the President of Stark Industries. She is also Tony Stark's live-in love interest! (Yes, people...This movie has romance! Be sure to take your wives to see it! I promise, she will enjoy it!)

We were all very excited to chat with Gwyneth about Pepper Potts' new-found strength. Here is what she had to say.

Q: How does it feel, as Pepper, to be that strong?

Gwyneth Paltrow: I loved it so much. You know, I was getting kind of like, come on, guys. These boys are flying around doing all this fun stuff, and I loved, yeah, I loved, you know, how patient and kind and sweet Pepper is, but, but when I read this script, I was like, oh yeah. Pepper, let’s go- come on, She's in the suit and flying around, and I loved doing the stunts, you know. I have never done anything like that before and it was really- I don’t know. As I said, it was really fun. I felt like I should have been doing this my whole career- it’s like, why am I doing all these period films? It’s so boring.

Q: Are we going to see you in more action films?

Gwyneth Paltrow: I don’t know. I would actually really like to, but really, am I old now to start, like, you know, being in action movies, [LAUGHS]. The nice thing is that everybody’s sort of been very sweet about Pepper in this movie, like all the journalists who came in. They said "My God, you have to have your own movie, because in the comics, Pepper gets her own suit, and she becomes a character called Rescue."  I would like to. They’re like, we need a Rescue movie, and I’m like, okay, well, I’d better hit the gym.

Q: What color would you choose for your suit?

Gwyneth Paltrow: Ooh, great question. Gray, or silver and white. My favorite colors.

Dishing About Working With Robert Downey, Jr. :

Of course Robert Downey, Jr. has been in headlines for decades. In recent years, he has really made quite a comeback on the Hollywood Scene with his work in the "Iron Man" series, "Tropic Thunder" and "The Avengers". He is even the voice-over for Nissan's Innovation for All ad campaign. Yes, RDJ has been enjoying the limelight and life lately, and is even a new father. He and his wife welcomed their son, Exton Elias Downey, to the world on February 7, 2012 . (His wife, Susan, is stunning, by the way!)

No doubt about it, Robert Downey, Jr. is once again  a much loved fixture in show business. Even my 70 year old Grandma absolutely adores him. RDJ is known for his fun antics, and  does have the reputation for being super-fun on the sets of the movies he's starring in. Of course, Gwyneth was more than happy to chat about what it has been like to star opposite such a spontaneous, unpredictable actor.

Q: What’s it like working with Robert?

Gwyneth Paltrow: It’s so fun. I mean, he’s really the most spontaneous like, mad genius, improvising, like, you’re really on your toes. Actually it's really interesting  to see how all these different actors, what their process is and how they work. Jeff Bridges was in the first movie, and he had binders of research, and everything was all underlined and highlighted, and there were graphs and all this. And then Robert would come in and, like, read the scene and rip it up, and be like, "Nope, we’re not doing it. This is bullshit. Let's make it up"- and poor Jeff Bridges would be dying since he had memorized everything. It was just so interesting, though, to see how different, people operate. As the woman, of course, you’re just like, let’s keep everyone happy. (LAUGHS) There's a happy medium to be found here, guys. I have been doing this job so long that it's so nice to have someone so unpredictable to work with. Everyone is looking at Robert and thinking, what's he going to do now? On this movie, at least he wasn't throwing away the scenes every day because the screenplay was really good. Working with Robert, you never know what’s gonna happen which I love!  Jeff Bridges does not love it, but it was really fun.

Life On The Set of the Mega-Blockbuster Iron Man 3 :

Have you ever wondered exactly what happens on the set of your favorite movies? I know I have. It's hours and hours of tirelessly working to make sure the scene is just right. One seemingly simple scene can take several hours to nail. But of course, the actors and actresses like to have fun as well. After all, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, right?

Thankfully, Gwyneth was able to give us a small glimpse of what happens behind the scenes. It was really cool hearing her talk about the more intimate, candid moments on set. It just proves that even the brightest of stars are real, fun-loving people, just like you and me! Here, she talks openly about illegal use of golf carts, Nerf gun fights, and more.

Q: What are some of the fun things that happen on set?

Gwyneth Paltrow: Um, you know, I’m so bad at remembering...I mean, the things that I remember from set are funny stories. Like, my kids learning how to drive a golf cart. You know, on a movie set, it’s so big and you drive a golf cart from one thing to another. So with the kids it's like, okay, you can drive the golf cart, you know, sit on the driver's lap... And then all of a sudden, they just started taking off in golf carts. So, this is illegal and this is not okay. (laughs) Or like the Nerf gun fights and we just had- it was just a fun experience for the family, and they love Robert. They had no idea that Robert was famous until probably a year ago. They just love him so much and he creates a fun environment. It was nice. It was really a nice shoot, you know, and when you work with someone over and over again that you really love and that environment is so familial and the kids feel-everybody feels it, and it really was so great.

Q: What’s like having a child actor on the set?

Gwyneth Paltrow: Oh, you know, I never even met him. I wasn’t in that section. But I loved  in the movie how they do that relationship and that is exactly what Robert is like. He teases me about that much all the time. So it was really fun how they did that relationship.

Q: Have you seen it yet?

Gwyneth Paltrow: No, I saw it. Marvel very kindly did- or Disney...I don’t know who- one of my bosses, (laughs) After all the press in London, they rented a little screening room and so I brought my son and my daughter and seventeen of their friends. It was so awesome. We watched it in 3D and I was really surprised. The movie was actually a really a good movie. I normally don't watch this kind of movie and I thought it was so good. There were so many really interesting metaphors in it about the media sort of being proponents of fear and how that effects in the culture and, like, what’s real, what’s a threat....And I loved Robert as Tony Stark being really stripped back and raw... having to kind of MacGyver his way back to strength. And I just loved the relationship with Pepper and Tony. Like, I thought there were I thought it was really cool to see her wanting to get her needs met, and I just thought it worked really- and I, you know, and then of course, all the action stuff is so fun, but I also think that the bones of it were actually really good.

After our interview was over, which happened much too soon, Gwyneth was more than happy to pose with us for a group photo. She was stunning in white, and the opportunity to meet one of Hollywood's "royalty" was almost surreal. I couldn't believe I was there, talking with Pepper Potts! It was also incredibly refreshing. Gwyneth has always shined brightly on the big screen, but she is truly a humble, friendly, and overall REAL person. Who just happens to have a really cool job. (I think I said that already, right?) Chatting with Gwyneth was like talking to a friend. She was so much fun, and this is an experience I will tell my grandkids about.

Remember to check out Gwyneth as Pepper Potts in Iron Man 3! This movie hits theaters on May 3, 2013.

Also, check back here on May 10, 2013 for more chat with Gwyneth and information about her amazing cookbook, "It's All Good".

***Photos of Gwyneth are courtesy of Dear Crissy.***