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Gwyneth Paltrow isn’t shying away from the “nepo baby” label.
The Oscar winner candidly acknowledged the perks of being a Hollywood “nepo baby” while revealing that one of her earliest film roles came not from an audition — but from a casual car ride with her famous godfather, Steven Spielberg.
During a SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations event earlier this month, Paltrow reflected on landing her role in 1991’s “Hook,” directed by Spielberg, after she was asked what the casting process looked like for the film.
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Gwyneth Paltrow isn’t shying away from the “nepo baby” label. (Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Gucci)
“You know there are certain advantages to being a nepo baby, which were that …Steven… very close with Steven and Kate,” Paltrow said.
Spielberg’s wife, actress Kate Capshaw, had long been part of Paltrow’s inner circle.
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Spielberg’s wife, actress Kate Capshaw, had long been part of Paltrow’s inner circle. (Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
“Kate was actually my father’s best friend. They were best friends. Kate Capshaw … so I grew up with them … they’re really our family,” she explained. According to Paltrow, the role offer came unexpectedly while she was riding in the back seat as the group headed to see “The Silence of the Lambs.”
“I remember we were going, my father and I were going to see ‘Silence of the Lambs’ with Kate and Steven,” she said.
“We were going to the movie theater and Steven was driving … I was in the back seat and he kept like looking in the rearview mirror and squinting at me … I was like, ‘Do I have something on my face? Like what?’”
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Oscar winner reveals Steven Spielberg cast her in “Hook” during a casual car ride when she was 18. (Rich Polk)
Then came the question that would kick-start her screen career.
“And then he said, ‘Gwenny, will you do me a favor?’” Paltrow, who was 18 at the time, said.
Spielberg asked, “‘Would you play young Wendy in ‘Hook’ in this movie that I’m doing about Peter Pan?’”
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Her initial reaction was disbelief — and a moment she quickly walked back.
Gwyneth Paltrow candidly discusses Hollywood connections and recalls her surprised reaction when her godfather Steven Spielberg offered her the young Wendy role in “Hook.” (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
“I said, ‘Oh, f–k off.’ You know, no,” she recalled. “Oh, I did not say that … I said, ‘Yes, I will. I will do that.’” The role itself was brief, but the memory left a lasting impression in Paltrow’s Hollywood career.
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“That was like my first, yeah. I had one line … an English accent,” Paltrow said, laughing at herself. “Not a very good English accent, by the way — it was before my dialect coach days. … I had a wig and a costume. Oh my gosh, it was so much fun. It was so cool.”
The candid admission comes as Paltrow continues to reflect publicly on her early Hollywood years.
During the same conversation, she also discussed her performances in “Shakespeare in Love,” “Sliding Doors” and “Iron Man.”