Gwyneth Paltrow reveals why she refused NSFW sex scene with Ethan Hawke in Great Expectations

Gwyneth Paltrow has opened up on her starring role in Great Expectations and how she refused a NSFW sex scene with Ethan Hawke.

Based on Charles Dickens' novel of the same name, the movie adaptation is approaching 30 years old, having hit screens back in 1998.

Paltrow, who featured in the movie, sat down with fellow co-star Hawke recently to discuss the hit.

In a video for Vanity Fair, the 53-year-old spoke with Hawke about the first time they met, as well as a sex scene she was pitched by the director of Great Expectations, Alfonso Cuarón.

"Do you remember Alfonso pitching you the love scene?" Hawke asked, to which Paltrow responded with: "Oh, my God," adding that the director had suggested a scene in which her character would receive oral sex from Hawke's character.

"I was like, 'Oh, my God, my father’s going to have a heart attack,'" Paltrow added.

Hawke then described the scene in more detail by recalling how Cuarón pitched it.

Gwyneth Paltrow refused a NSFW sex scene (Earl Gibson III/Deadline via Getty Images)

He said: "'The camera is going to go down your belly, and then it's going to go up your breasts, and then it's going to go in your face as you reach ecstasy. And then when you reach ecstasy, the light will explode like to the sun!'"

Hawke continued: "And I remember looking at Gwyneth, and Gwyneth is like, 'Alfonso, I'm never going to do that'."

Paltrow went on to admit she felt 'really self-conscious about my dad and grandfather seeing this kind of stuff' during the early part of her career, but that has since changed.

"It really bothered me," she added. "Now, I wouldn't care."

Hawke then went on to say he felt that Paltrow handled the situation well, given the sensitive nature of it.

"You had an awareness of the way that the business works, and the ways in which those kinds of images could be manipulated and what it meant to your dad," Hawke told Paltrow.

Elsewhere in the interview, the acting pair spoke about how they have stayed true to their roots.

Great Expectations released in 1998 (Lawrence Schwartzwald/Sygma via Getty Images)

"We were two extremely idealistic young people who had a great vision for what we wanted to do and how we wanted to contribute," Hawke explained.

"And you were never ordinary. You’ve always been you."

Paltrow then replied: "I think we are fundamentally very much the same people. I think, you know, we have had these lives that have taken all kinds of twists and turns, but I think we’ve both remained true to ourselves and who we are."