Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t shy away from the ‘nepo baby’ label as she reveals she got one of her first roles in Steven Spielberg’s 1991 film Hook without an audition.
It’s surprising, considering the auditions are supposedly a must in Hollywood. Nevertheless, the Academy-winning actress recalls that Kate Capshaw is a good friend of her father.
The person in question is Steven’s wife.
“Kate was actually my dad’s best friend. They were best friends. Kate Capshaw… so I grew up with them… they really are our family,” she says while speaking at a SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations event, noting that being a “fake baby” comes with “certain advantages.”
Yet the close bond with the two paid off in an unexpected way, says the actress.
Gwyneth, who was 18 at the time, remembers Steven offering her the role Hook as they were on their way to see The silence of the lambs.
“We went to the movies and Steven was driving… I was in the backseat and he kept looking in the rearview mirror and peering at me… I was like, ‘Do I have something on my face? Like what?’
“And then he said, ‘Gwenny, will you do me a favor?’” She remembers Steven saying, “Would you like to play young Wendy in ‘Hook’ in this movie I’m making about Peter Pan?”
Gwyneth is momentarily speechless and reacts in disbelief. “I said, ‘Oh, fuck off.’ You know, no. Oh, I didn’t say that… I said, ‘Yes, I will. I will. ”
It is worth noting that in Hookthe actress portrays Young Wendy; although the role was short, it was considered one of her first.
