You obviously have a sense of humor that is unique and you were very in tune with the sense of humor as exemplified by your work in Shallow Hal. So, how would you describe your own sense of humor? ^ I laugh really hard at jokes. And the Farrelly Brothers do incredibly irreverent things and say some very funny things. I mean, they just really are funny – I mean really funny. Out there, but funny.
Being ‘overweight’, was that something that you practiced for a while? ^ Yes. I watched people and practiced, and Ivy- my stand-in – was great ‘cos she let me ask her questions and I watched how she moved and her kind of attitude.
How about how people treated you when you had that fat suit on. ^ It was very different. You know, when I was on set, I felt no kind of sexual energy from men. Because normally, I still have all of these tiny little clothes on the whole time, and then to come on with that suit on and feel none of that, was devastating.
It must be very strange to see yourself in that fat suit. ^ No, it was very strange the first time I put it on. I laughed, cried and it was very intense. And I went in public down in the lobby of the hotel where I tried it on, and people wouldn’t even look at me – people wouldn’t make eye contact with me at all. It was awful. It really was.
How did you get into such a mindset? After all, we’re not used to the unloved side of Gwyneth Paltrow. ^ Well, you know, there are things that I feel insecure about, and people pick me about, and say “Oh, she’s gaining weight”, and this and that, and press, or whatever. Now apparently I’m fat according to the New York Post. I understand what it feels like not to like aspects of yourself. There have been times that I have felt really good about the way I look, and times where I feel really terrible about the way I look. So, I have the seed of that feeling, and then I spoke to a lot of people who were overweight, and they were really forthcoming about what it feels like, and not wanting your clothes to stick to your body. Daily physical stuff and emotional stuff, and they were really helpful and great.
You’ve obviously been able to tap into something you obviously can relate to with this character. ^ I really like that part of the movie where Tony Robbins says that we’re all hypnotized to see beauty this one specific way, and it’s true. It seems that there’s no – I don’t know who decided that skinny was more appealing than not skinny – it just seems arbitrary. If we were living in ancient Rome or Greece, I would be considered sickly and unattractive, and it’s just like the times dictate that thin is better for some strange reason, which I think is foolish.
Get the rest of the interview in part three of THE SKINNY FROM GWYNETH PALTROW>>>
