Ruth Jones has revealed she didn’t have a good experience working with Gwyneth Paltrow on the movie Emma.
Jones made her screen debut in the 1996 adaptation of the Jane Austen book, which starred Paltrow as the titular character.
The film, which was written and directed by Douglas McGrath, saw the Gavin and Stacey creator and star play a smaller role of a maid working for the Bates family.
Appearing on as a guest on Wondery’s podcast Brydon &, which is hosted by her Gavin and Stacey co-star Rob Brydon, Jones said: “I had two lines. I had to announce Gwyneth Paltrow and say, ‘Miss Woodhouse is here’ and then I had to say ‘Goodbye Miss Woodhouse’ at the exit and let her out – and GP cut one of my lines.
“She said, ‘Does she really need to say that, can I just come in?’ Imagine this for people who are starting out. You’ve got two lines, and someone cut 50 per cent of your script, it’s heartbreaking.”
Jones found herself even less enamoured by Paltrow when her attempts to engage her in conversation in-between takes also fell flat.
She recalled how the Hollywood star, who had starred in Seven the year before, “was quite dismissive of” her.
“We were waiting for them to shout action, so it was just me and Gwyneth behind the door. She didn’t want to talk to me, I was a nothing,” she told Brydon.
“At the time she was going out with Brad Pitt,” Jones recalled. “And I said, ‘Do you have any Welsh connections?’ Because Gwyneth, I always think of as a Welsh name. ‘How come you’re called Gwyneth?’ She said, ‘My mother had a friend called Gwyneth and she really liked the name, so she called me Gwyneth.’
“She was quite dismissive of me, so I was thinking it’s an old woman’s name where I come from so when you get married, you’re going to be called Gwyn Pitt!”
The Standard has contacted a representative for Gwyneth Paltrow for comment.
Jones of course went on to bigger and better things.
It was confirmed last month that she is currently writing a Gavin and Stacey Christmas special with James Corden.
Billed as the final outing for the beloved Welsh comedy series, it is due to air this year.
