She famously has had difficulty remembering her many contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But Gwyneth Platrow seemed to be poking fun at Marvel fans on Friday when she acted as if she had no idea about Marvel’s ongoing Hawkeye series, starring Jeremy Renner’s character from the Avengers films.
The 49-year-old Oscar winner got quizzed about the series, which premiered on Disney+ on November 24, while answering a batch of questions from her fans on Instagram.
Having a laugh: Gwyneth Paltrow, 49, seemed to be joking with her fans when she pretended not to know about Marvel’s Hawkeye series during a Q&A session on Instagram on Friday; seen in Iron Man 2 (2010)
Considering that she has appeared in more Marvel films than many of the higher-profile figures in the franchise, it made sense that a fan would ask her about the MCU.
‘Have you watched the hawkeye series??’ one anonymous fan asked among the questions.
‘No, what is that?’ Gwyneth replied.
Unlike some of her other answers, which she replied to with videos, the Iron Man star posted a written reply, possibly to keep up her deadpan façade.
Feigning ignorance: ‘Have you watched the hawkeye series??’ one anonymous fan asked. ‘No, what is that?’ Gwyneth replied
Out of the loop: The Jeremy Renner–starring series premiered on Disney+ late in November; still from Hawkeye
Although the actress may have genuinely been unaware of the series, particularly since it has a much lower profile than the Marvel films, she took pains to prove she was up on popular culture in another answer.
After a fan asked if she had listened to Taylor Swift’s rerecorded version of her album Red, she replied in large block letters: YES DO YOU THINK I LIVE UNDER A ROCK LOVE IT.’
Gwyneth was first introduced to Marvel fans in 2008’s Iron Man as Pepper Potts, the personal assistant to Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.).
She later had a larger role in the sequels as she and Stark became romantically entwined, and she went on to have small appearances in the first Avengers film, as well as Infinity War and Endgame.
The studio is also wary of obsessive fans concerned about plot spoilers, so actors are often forced to film scenes without context, which may have been the case for her Spider-Man scene.
Giving up the game: Gwyneth seemed to reveal that she was joking when she said she didn’t ‘live under a rock’ after a fan asked if she had listened to Red (Taylor’s Version)
Familiar face: Gwyneth was first introduced to Marvel fans in 2008’s Iron Man as Pepper Potts, the personal assistant to Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), and she appeared in several Avengers films; still from Avengers: Endgame
But Paltrow seemed to have totally blocked out a short scene she filmed for Spider-Man: Homecoming, which also featured Downey with star Tom Holland.
She was featured briefly in the film in a scene with Tony just before he heads off to a press conference, during which he proposes to her character.
When she appeared on the pilot episode of Chef, a cooking series from Iron Man and Spider-Man regular Jon Favreau, Gwyneth had no idea the scene had ended up in the latest Spider-Man reboot.
‘No, I wasn’t in Spider-Man,’ she tells Favreau, ‘I was in Avengers.’
The MCU films are all interconnected, and it’s a standard procedure for them to feature end-credits scenes that connect one movie to another, so it’s possible that Gwyneth might not have known the scene would end up in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Totally oblivious: While appearing with fellow Marvel fixture Jon Favreau (R) on his Chef series, Gwyneth didn’t realize that she had appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming
The actress previously told People that having her own solo Marvel film didn’t interest her.
‘I think if it was a small part that I could do in like a day or two, I would of course be open to that,’ she said.
While speaking with Empire in 2019, Paltrow revealed that she was confused during a photocall with the extend MCU cast as to why Samuel L. Jackson was among the group.
‘‘What are you talking about? He’s Nick Fury! You’ve been in movies with him,’ she quoted Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige as saying.
However, both actors mainly play cameo roles in Marvel films, so they would likely have little interaction on set.