The Gloss team was lucky enough to get the chance to talk to Hollywood veteran and style icon Gwyneth Paltrow, on the eve of the DVD release of her latest film, Iron Man 2.

With the success of the first Iron Man film, were you excited to come back and do it again?
Yeah. I mean I love Robert Downey Jr.

Of course, your character Pepper Potts kisses Robert’s Tony Stark in the Iron Man 2.  It almost happened in the original Iron Man. Let’s cut to the chase … what was it like kissing Robert?
It felt fine (laughs). We’re all very close, Robert, (his wife) Susan and us so it was a little strange, but it was fine. He’s so sweet. We have such a good time working together. We have a really good chemistry. I really know him well and he knows me well. I know his moods well. It’s like another man in your life you know how to….you know (laughs).

Are you saying men are easy to manipulate?
(Laughs) Hmmmm. Uh. Next question. No, no, men are not easy to manipulate. I find men need specific support in certain ways, like we need support in our ways too.

Did you bring your kids to the Iron Man 2 set?
I did. They loved it. I mean, they didn’t really get it, what I was doing. Moses’ godmother got him a mini Jeep and it was in front of my trailer so they would come and ride that thing all over. That was the best thing for them. They had fun. It’s nice to be in California for a couple of months, see friends and be in the sunshine. It was a really nice time for us all as a family.

Scarlett Johansson joins the cast of Iron Man 2. People wanted to make out there was a rivalry between the two of you.
Oh god, people are so stupid. She was great. It was so nice to have a girl there. She’s sassy, fun and smart. She has a dirty mouth and I just love her. She’s edgy and cool. She’s so self-assured. It’s crazy she’s 25 years old.

And of course Iron Man 2 also stars Mickey Rourke. What is your best Mickey Rourke anecdote from the set?
I don’t know if I can really say the Mickey Rourke anecdotes (laughs). We had fun. I had a really great time doing it. It was a great job for me. (Director) Jon Favreau has a great knack for picking his cast. Everyone was funny, smart and kind of naughty.

Pepper Potts is promoted to chief executive of the company. Can you ever see yourself as a CEO of a company?
No. I think I would have a restaurant somewhere. I’d be cooking. I’d be growing food and cooking food.

In the first Iron Man movie you worked out with fitness trainer Tracy Anderson. Did you work out with Tracy again for the sequel?
Yeah. Even more. She really kicked my butt this time. She wanted me in really good shape.

How often did you work out?
Six days a week, two hours a day. She killed me.

Are you still doing it?
Yeah. I go through periods. I always do it. After I did Iron Man 2 for example where I killed myself then I went to the beach for the summer and I didn’t, you know, I would do it maybe four, five times a week and maybe an hour a day, sort of to maintain. Then I started to do it a little bit more. Then I did this movie in Nashville (Love Don’t Let Me Down) where I played a country singer and the director did not want me to have muscle so I was just eating whatever I wanted, tons of alcohol and fried food. It was great.

Looking at you today, nobody could tell you let yourself go.
Well that’s because I’ve been going crazy to get back in shape.

It is weird to hear you talking about eating fried food because you have the image of a very healthy eater.
I’m into balance. That’s my thing now. I don’t think fried food is good for you, but I also think that life is short.

But it’s difficult with kids because as a Mum you are probably always eating what’s left on your kids’ plates.
Always. But you know, I make my kids French fries home made, so at least I know they’re organic potatoes, it’s organic oil. I double fry them. They’re really good. They’re great.

Talking about food. How was it doing the TV food documentary series, ‘Spain … on the Road Again’?
So fun. It was great. Spain is my home away from home and just the chance to get to eat and cook and be in Spain was really good. I knew this was some one-off crazy experience, but I just had such a good time doing it. It was really fun doing it with Mario Batali, Claudia Bassols and Mark Bittman.

Have your ambitions changed at all since becoming a Mum? Because some mothers, when they see their baby for the first time, say ‘I’m done with work’.
Yeah, it’s true. I’ll never forget when I saw my daughter for the first time and I felt like she had given me life, you know? I don’t feel like I gave her life. I felt like she gave me life. I understood why I was here. I mean, both of them, but that moment of having your first child everything changed so much for me. I feel like it’s my biggest success, having those two.

Has your ambition returned?
In a way, just because I didn’t work for a really long time and I was home. I was happy just being home and then when I wanted to go back to work I felt guilty that it was too soon so, you know, I’m starting to work more now. I don’t think I’ll be able to do more than one film a year realistically while they are small. It’s not worth it. The film in Nashville was really hard on my son. I wasn’t there. They were with me, but I wasn’t there in the way I need to be … you know? So it was really hard. I pulled out of a film unfortunately that I was meant to do in May because I just thought it’s not worth it. He’s only going to be four one time and that’s it. If I’m away and trying to fly home every weekend from eastern Europe, it’s not going to work. It’s sad for me (shrugs), but that’s part of being a mother I guess.

What would you like to do as an actress?
I would like to do a musical on stage, I think that would be really great. I had to sing a lot for this last movie I did in Nashville. I did a lot of singing lessons and stuff like that.

You sound like you have the singing bug.
Yeah, it’s been really fun. It’s been great. I would like to do something like that, something I’ve never done before.

Can we expect Gwyneth Paltrow to release a record soon?
Well there’s a soundtrack coming with the film which has a lot of my singing on it and the other two actors who did great singing too, a guy called Garret Hedlund, a young actor, and Leighton Meester as well was singing. We were all singing country music.

The obvious question considering your love of singing is .. are you going to do a duet with your husband soon?
No. Never.

Did he give you any tips?
Yeah he did. He was really helpful actually, he was great, especially as I had to do this scene where I do a concert and I was petrified. He really gave me a lot of great advice.

You look really gorgeous. What is your skincare secret?
You know I’m really bad with products and stuff like that. I think, honestly, the best thing is eating well. Not eating processed foods is huge because I drink alcohol and I eat dairy. But I think processed foods really make you age. I think exercise. I use a washcloth with hot water.

A lot of people are cutting dairy from their diets.
I eat dairy. I love dairy. I’m all about French cheese. That’s the thing.

Being one of the world’s most stylish women, what is your number one style tip?
(Laughs) What would be my number one style tip? I think it’s really important to know your body. Dress for what’s flattering and not necessarily for trends. I think accessories can really pull an outfit together. Like a big necklace. Especially if you’re feeling like ‘Argh, I don’t know what to wear.’ If you have great accessories and wear even just a T-shirt, leggings or jeans, you can think ‘Okay, I have an outfit on.’

What is your greatest life lesson?
I guess my greatest life lesson, you know, I think  it would be when my Dad died I really realised how finite life is and how important it is to be good to people and give as much as you can. My Dad was such a generous man and after he died strangers would stop me and say ‘Your father helped me pay my mortgage for a month when I lost my job in 1983’ or someone would stop me and say ‘Your father paid for me to fix my teeth’ or ‘Your father sent my kid to school.’ All these stories came out, you know. He was so generous with his spirit, his time, his money and I feel like my best life lesson is to live by his example.

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