Timothée Chalamet 'Begged' Veteran Hollywood A-Lister to Star in His Steamy New Movie and 'Offered Millions'... but Was Forced to Settle for Gwyneth Paltrow Instead
Timothée Chalamet begged an A-list star to play his love interest in his latest movie — but had to settle for Gwyneth Paltrow.
Oct. 20 2025, Published 4:13 p.m. ET
Timothée Chalamet "begged" a Hollywood superstar to appear in his latest movie — but had to settle for Gwyneth Paltrow instead.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the A Complete Unknown star, 29, was desperately hoping Julia Roberts would play his love interest in Marty Supreme.
Age-Gap Reservations
Roberts felt she was too old to play Chalamet's love interest, according to claims.
But the Pretty Woman actress, 57, had huge reservations about the role due to the 28-year age gap between herself and Chalamet, who plays ping-pong champion Marty Mauser, in the Josh Sadie directed film.
An insider said: "Julia was offered the role. She wanted to work with Timothée, but she turned down the role after reading the script which she loved.
"She just didn't think audiences would buy her playing a romantic interest to someone who's so much younger.
"Producers, including Timothée, tried their best to convince her they would gel on screen. They kept upping her offer and came close to $20million, but Julia's answer was still a firm no."
Movie Comeback
Paltrow ended her acting exile to feature in 'Marty Supreme' alongside Chalamet.
Another source told The Daily Mail: "The character on paper to Josh (Safdie) was something Julia would do incredibly in, but although she believed in the script and loves Timothée's work, she didn't connect with it enough to see herself in the role.
"And from seeing the trailer, she still believes she made the right decision and that Gwyneth is going to crush it."
Marty Supreme is inspired by the life of Marty Reisman, known as "The Needle," who was one of the most accomplished American table tennis players of all time.
The native New Yorker won nearly two dozen major titles between 1946 and 2002 after picking up the sport as a child on the Lower East Side and hustling for money throughout his early years.
Steamy Love Scenes
Chalamet plays American table tennis player Marty Reisman in the movie.
In the film, Mauser embarks on an affair with Paltrow's Kay Stone, an old Hollywood star contemplating a return to acting, which sees the Goop founder and Chalamet involved in some steamy live scenes.
Paltrow, 53, herself had somewhat given up acting before she signed up for the partly fictionalized biopic.
The actress, who is married to producer Brad Falchuk, scaled back her "incredible acting career" to focus on Goop, the wellness brand she launched in 2008 and grew into an estimated $250million empire.
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Chalamet, here with girlfriend Kylie Jenner, is also a producer on the movie.
Speaking to a panel back in 2023 she said "never say never" to a return to the silver screen.
"I don't know what the future will hold," she said at the time. "If I am not busy running Goop, and if one of my best friends, says please come and do that with us, I might consider."
But she was reportedly "convinced" to say yes to Marty Supreme after her daughter Apple, 20, learned that Chalamet — who is currently dating Kylie Jenner — was not only producing, but also playing the lead.
"Gwyneth signed on to co-star with Timothée thanks to her daughter, who has had a crush on the Dune star for years," an insider revealed .
"As soon as Gwyneth told Apple that Timothée is not only a producer but also the lead actor, she pleaded with her mom to accept."
