Gwyneth Paltrow claims her role as Rose in the Farrelly Brothers’ comedy Shallow Hal, in which she was made to wear a fat suit for a significant portion of the film, was the lowest point of her career.
During a Netflix promotional video for her new show The Goop Lab, Paltrow’s friend and assistant Kevin Keating asked the actress about her least favorite performance. Before Paltrow could answer, Keating took a guess that it was 2001’s Shallow Hal, to which she quickly responded “exactly” before going on to state that she felt that the experience was a total disaster.
Paltrow’s feelings about her time on the set of Shallow Hal aren’t necessarily new revelations, however. During a 2001 interview with W magazine, the actress had this to say about it:
“The first day I tried [the fat suit] on, I was in the Tribeca Grand [a hotel in New York City] and I walked through the lobby. It was so sad; it was so disturbing. No one would make eye contact with me because I was obese. I was wearing this black shirt with big snowmen on it. For some reason, the fat clothes they make… The clothes they make for women that are overweight are horrible. I felt humiliated because people were really dismissive.”
Although her time shooting Shallow Hal may have been marred by discomfort and humiliation, Paltrow has gone on to have a wildly successful career spanning multiple decades and various genres. She’s perhaps most well-known as Tony Stark’s love interest Pepper Potts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though it seems she occasionally forgets just how many of the films she’s starred in so far. When she’s not acting, Paltrow enjoys running Goop, a “wellness” company that sells scented candles that apparently smell like her vagina. And no, that’s not a joke.
Despite Gwyneth Paltrow’s personal experience with Shallow Hal, the film went on to do decently with critics thanks to its generally lighthearted humor and her co-star Jack Black’s penchant for playing a lovable rascal. The Farrelly Brothers have gone on record calling it a “valentine” for overweight people, and though it poked some casual fun at the obese, it landed on the right side of the fence by sending the message that true beauty is on the inside.
