Shortly after Iron Man was given the green light, director Jon Favreau put a call out to fans on his MySpace for ideas on what type of character Tony Stark's secretary, Pepper Potts, should be like. When the lovely Gwyneth Paltrow was cast as Pepper, her presence only added to the A-list strength of Iron Man's armor. Joining a cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges, Paltrow couldn't have asked for a better line-up when she signed on to one of the most anticipated and talked about movies of the year.

Leading up to the release of Iron Man on May 2, Gwyneth Paltrow sat down with the press in New York City to talk the sexual energy between Pepper and Tony Stark, working with Robert Downey Jr. and Terrence Howard, the truth behind Chris Martin's Iron Man comic, and whether she attended the wedding of Jay-Z and Beyonce.

I could not get over the heels you were wearing at the action scene of the movie?

GWYNETH PALTROW: Well, when I chose the heel I didn’t realize what I was being forced to do. It was all running, and it was grates and heels and grates do not go well together. So that was a particularly challenging sequence, and running in high heels is particularly difficult, as any girl can tell you who has been chased in high heels.

It’s a surprise that you are doing a movie like Iron Man?

PALTROW: Everyone has the wrong idea of me. Basically, I always wanted to work with Robert [Downey Jr.], he is utterly brilliant. And when Jon Favreau called and explained to me the film and who was involved; Robert, Jon, Jeff [Bridges], and Terrence [Howard], how do you say no to that? It’s such an amazing, talented group of guys. And I have absolutely nothing against doing a movie with all kinds of special effects. As long as the people involved are gonna make me better at what I do, I’ll do any genre; maybe not porn, but anything else.

Pepper and Tony Stark have an unrequited love for each other it seems.

PALTROW: It’s a great movie device dynamic, that kind of sexually charged [energy] - it’s not so much unrequited in their case but unrealized. It’s just keep it bubbling under the surface. It was so much fun to play because Robert is such a spontaneous and dedicated and amazing human being. We really wanted to keep that the main component between them.

So Robert Downey, Jr. keeps you on your toes?

PALTROW: Oh, he’ll keep you on your toes alright. He’s constantly changing the dialogue and doing crazy things and coming up with amazing ideas, the scene at the end where he makes everyone sit at the press conference, he came up with that, and that’s Robert. He’s just always thinking outside the box.

Your character is not a damsel in distress.

PALTROW: Well, Pepper really has a great head on her shoulders. She’s a very strong woman, but she’s also a very giving and very non-judgmental when it comes to her relationship with Tony. I love the fact that she was who she was and she was his kind of conscience in a way. She wasn’t being dangled from rooftops screaming. I’d be up for that in the sequel. [laughs] It was nice in this one to be a real character.

Did you read comic books regarding Pepper’s storyline?

PALTROW: Well, funnily enough, yeah. When I got to the part where Pepper marries Happy Hogan, hmmm... What was Jon’s motivation for casting me in the part, because he plays Happy Hogan? Yeah, there are certain surprises down the line where you go, "Oh, I wonder if they will add this bit in or not if we do another one." I’m open to anything.

How to be a Super Hero Secretary with Gwyneth Paltrow Page 2