The Marvel Cinematic Universe is always growing, thanks to new projects hitting theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Fans who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order will remember it all began with the first Iron Man movie, which starred Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. The latter actress has nothing but nice thing to say about RDJ and director Jon Favreau, but she did have one complaint about her OG appearance as Pepper Potts.
While fans are looking forward to upcoming Marvel movies, more information about the shared universe's humble beginnings are still trickling out. Gwyneth Paltrow recently spoke to Vanity Fair about her movie roles, and offered some insider scoops about what it was like on the MCU's very first movie.
What Gwyneth Paltrow Said About Working On The Original Iron Man
While the MCU is a well-oiled machine at this point, Iron Man was a big risk. It was the first entry into the shared universe, and featured studio execs thought casting Robert Downey Jr. was a risk. But once on set it sounds like Paltrow, Downey, and Favreau did some serious collaboration to bring the blockbuster to life. As she shared:
We had so much fun on this movie. It kind of felt like an independent movie in a way. Jon Favreau and Robert and I kind of improvised all day, every day. There was a lot of rewriting and we'd go to Jon's trailer in the morning and the three of us would kind of improv. Which is not typical on a big budget action movie.
Honestly, this does sound like a unique way of working on such a giant blocbuster. Marvel is known for its tight security, and the way that Kevin Feige and company methodically introduce new characters and stories. But Iron Man was more of an experiment, one filled with a ton of improvisation.
This unique type of collaboration between Favreau, Paltrow, and Downey paid off in the end, as Iron Man was hugely popular and kickstarted an entire shared universe. And while Paltrow might forget she was in Spider-Man: Homecoming, she's got lots of praise for the director of the OG MCU film. As she continued:
But Jon is so brilliant. He really wanted the movie to feel like it had this reality to it. And that it was very character-based.
While it definitely sounds like filming the first Iron Man movie all those years ago was a positive experience for the Oscar-winning actress, there was one aspect of playing Pepper Potts that she wasn't a fan of.
The Aspect Of Iron Man That Gwyneth Wasn't A Fan Of
While gushing about filming the OG Iron Man film, Paltrow spoke about one sore point from the 2008 movie. In her words:
It's not a great wig, guys. Let's face it.
She certainly didn't mince words. While Paltrow would go on to play Pepper Potts in a whopping seven movies in the MCU, that doesn't mean that she was a big fan of her first wig. Luckily it didn't deter her from returning to that role time and time again.
It's currently unclear if/when Paltrow will return to the MCU, but she's been good about popping in for cameos. The next Marvel movie hitting theaters is Thunderbolts* on May 2nd as pat of the 2025 movie release list.
