An Interview with Gwyneth Paltrow

Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow is currently starring in Sylvia, the true story of the relationship between American poet Sylvia Plath and British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. It's a bleak but artistic film ending in Plath's suicide, and portrays a tumultuous romance...

Why did the character of Sylvia Plath appeal to you so strongly?
I think because she was such an amazingly complicated woman with so many paradoxes: so brilliant and so tortured and so full of life and so depressed. She had so many battling characteristics that made her interesting.

Was it difficult to make the film balanced and fair? You play a role most people will see as the victim.
Life is complicated, it's not black and white. There is not ever a villain or a victim in a relationship. Two people are always complicit in forming the dynamic and what happens between them. It's left to the audience to decide who was responsible for what. You could see it that Sylvia was mad and jealous and drove Ted to find solace elsewhere, or you could think that he was always womanising and drove her insane, or that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

What do you hope people will take away from the film? It's a hard film to enjoy.
But if you look at films like The Hours, or Ordinary People or Iris, films that are beautifully made and emotionally truthful and really moving, people respond to that. There is an audience that wants to see a film and feel fulfilled. Now, so many films are unwatchable and such a waste of time, that I think it's better to see a film that's really beautifully made that might have difficult subject matter than something that's just going to kill brain cells.

Are you afraid that some people might say that it's just trawling over the same old ground about Ted and Sylvia's relationship. Does the film do anything new?
There's never been a film made about the subject and I think it's a very small circle of people who are reading all the Ted and Sylvia biographies. We're doing something new in that we're bringing it to life and making it breathe, and hopefully introducing a lot of people to these two great minds.

Your career has been extraordinarily eclectic – Shakespeare In Love, Sliding Doors, Shallow Hal and now Sylvia. Is this something you make a point of?
No. I think that winning the Oscar at 26 did funny things to me in that I became kind of insouciant about the choices I made. I wanted to try anything. I think I worked too much in my 2Os. And when my father died it completely changed my perspective. I would much rather work less and do better things - even if they are riskier and get paid less - and not compromise my integrity. It's been a long time since I've done a film that I'm really proud of. Sylvia is the first in a long time. If I have to travel economy then I will, but I don't want to sell out.

Tell me about your relationship with England.
My ever-evolving relationship with England… (laughs). When I first came here to do Emma I didn't like it at all. I didn't get it, I didn't like the people, the food. I didn't get the humour. I could not wait to get back to America. Then when I came back to do Sliding Doors something clicked for me. Instead of trying to force my perspective on England, I sat back and absorbed more. Then the more I absorbed, organically, the more I started to love it. I love the English countryside, I think it's so serene. The West Country, Gloucestershire, Dorset… I love my friends here – I love the fact that they aren't in the movie business and no one really cares that that's what I do. They have respect for me in the same way they have respect for their other friends. I just feel more normal here. I'm lucky that I have both – New York as well.

Where would you prefer to bring your child up?
It's hard for me because I feel that I could never give either one of them (London or New York) up. I think here. Because the English children that I know are so lovely and polite and well-educated, and there are no metal detectors in the schools, and less drugs. America is a bit of a scary place at the moment, with all the violence and the guns and the pesticides and GM food and George Bush. I feel safer with the idea of raising a child away from all of that.

A lot of Hollywood stars seem to end up marrying other stars. Is that good, bad or inevitable?
I think there's something about being with another artist that's easier than being with someone who doesn't understand that artistic personality that can be quite difficult. You hook up with someone that you admire or that you find interesting – sometimes they're well known in their field as well. I think in any profession it's nice to have a spouse who understands where you're coming from.

How much of a preoccupation is it for you to get the balance right between work and personal life?
It used to be more of a struggle, but now, as I said with this difference in perspective, I feel like my personal life comes first. I'm not saying I want to sacrifice work or stop, but I do really want to live a good and interesting life. You can't really do that on a movie set, it's only an exercise in ego. When my father died I just realised I really want to have a life of quality and make it worth something to myself and the people who I love and who love me, rather than just going and working and feeding that machine.