Ethan Hawke may be many things: Oscar-nominated actor; author; eternal Gen X heartthrob. But in a viral clip making the rounds this week, he is also a man who remembers exactly where he kissed Gwyneth Paltrow nearly three decades ago and would like that location treated with the appropriate reverence.
The moment comes from a recent Vanity Fair Instagram post featuring Hawke in conversation with the Academy Award–winning actress, as the longtime collaborators chatted about their 2025 movie releases, future projects, and the odd intimacy that comes with a shared on-screen history. At one point, the Dead Poets Society star jokingly asks Paltrow about a new kissing scene with Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme, specifically whether it took place in the same Central Park location where she and Hawke once kissed. Smiling, he presses:
You kiss Timmy Chalamet in Central Park. Did you kiss him in the same place you kissed me?
For context, Great Expectations featured a scene of the Four-time Oscar nominee and Paltrow kissing in Central Park near a water fountain, a moment that has clearly lived rent-free in Hawke’s mind. Paltrow, for her part, assured him that the spot remains untouched, replying with playful seriousness:
No, honey. Never. I never would have desecrated our make-out spot like that.
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, the 1998 film is a modern, New York–set book to screen adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel, with the beloved Training Day actor playing Finn, an aspiring artist who never quite gets over Estella (Paltrow), the wealthy, emotionally guarded girl he falls for as a child. Their on-and-off romance unfolds alongside Finn’s rise as an artist, blurring the line between ambition, love, and the kind of obsession that feels like destiny when you’re young.
And judging by how easily this exchange resurfaced, the movie and that kiss clearly left a lasting impression. Fans had plenty to say about the back-and-forth.
Fans React To Hawke And Paltrow's Kissing Confession
Responses on X ranged from swooning over Hawke to lovingly roasting Paltrow’s selective memory, with plenty of Great Expectations callbacks mixed in. Highlights from the timeline include:
- @heyitsme_irenee: “honestly, Ethan has always been total hottie”
- @Samiizsleepin: "She remembers a kiss from 100 years ago but not her co workers from Avengers? Lmao
- @repressionnap: “After Sunrise and Sunset but before Noon”
- @FirstCuriosity: “desecrated 😭🤚”
- @Massiel3_: “I love everything from Great Expectations up to the crazy grandma. It should be on @NetflixLAT 🥹”
- @iainjordan: “She obviously should have said no I kissed him on the mouth”
- @waterdragon588: “she did all that just to get his attention women are so corny”
- @bub_bobino: “Ethan still got that dawg in him”
- @boyd_stevenz: “That’s kinda iconic”
- @heyrimz: “Outstanding 😍
- @theOfficeofSB: “Obsessed with this energy”
Fans clearly agree that the moment was funny and genuinely charming. Between the jokes and throwback affection for Great Expectations, fans were clearly happy to see the A-listers slip so easily back into the chemistry that made their pairing memorable in the first place.
As the year wraps up, both actors are staying busy. Gwyneth Paltrow returned to acting after a seven-year hiatus with Marty Supreme, the upcoming A24 film marking her first major screen role in years. Ethan Hawke, meanwhile, has been everywhere, appearing in Blue Moon and FX's series The Lowdown, reprising his role in The Black Phone 2, and lending his voice to Ken Burns’ The American Revolution documentary miniseries.
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