ENTERTAINMENTEthan Hawke Was 'Disappointed' His First Make Out With Gwyneth Paltrow Was During Truth or Dare: 'I Wanted to Kiss Her, But Not in a Game'
On 'TODAY With Jenna & Friends,' Ethan Hawke uncovered his greatest regret in kissing Gwyneth Paltrow for the first time.
Jan. 7 2026, Published 12:55 p.m. ET
Ethan Hawke wasn’t pleased about how his first kiss with former costar Gwyneth Paltrow went down.
During the Wednesday, January 7, episode of TODAY With Jenna & Friends, the actor, 55, revealed his biggest regret in smooching Paltrow outside of their racy film, Great Expectations.
Ethan Hawke guest-starred on 'TODAY With Jenna & Friends.'
“I remember, to be honest, I didn’t even say this to her, being disappointed that was my dare, because I didn’t want that to be the way…I wanted to kiss her, but not in a game,” he admitted. “I’m allowed to say that now.”
Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow 'Made Out' in Her NYC Apartment
Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow reportedly dated in the 1990s.
Hawke and Paltrow recently reminisced over their first kiss in a December 17, 2025, interview together.
“There was about a six-month period where I would run into you, at six or seven different places, at somebody’s house, at a play opening, at Corner Bistro, or this other bar. It was so much fun. There were no phones,” he recounted.
“That’s the first time we made out. Do you remember? Truth or Dare at my apartment on Prince Street. What a highlight,” the Marty Supreme star noted.
The Dead Poets Society alum once again reinforced how he “didn’t want that [kiss] to happen in that stupid game,” as he “had different plans for that moment.”
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Ethan Hawke wanted to kiss Gwyneth Paltrow organically.
The stars also joked about their intense chemistry in Great Expectations, and how they should have received a trophy for their performances.
“We didn’t even win the MTV Movie Award!” Hawke exclaimed. “How do we not win? That water fountain kissing scene is iconic.”
Gwyneth Paltrow Avoided an Intimate Scene With Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow starred as love interests in 'Great Expectations.'
Paltrow, 53, then revealed she had to turn down an oral s-- scene with Hawke in Great Expectations because her father wouldn’t allow it.
"I was like, 'Oh, my God, my father’s going to have a heart attack,'" she recalled.
Hawke remembered director Alfonso Cuarón describing, "The camera is going to go down your belly, and then it's going to go up your b------, 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!"
The actor added, “And I remember looking at Gwyneth, and Gwyneth is like, 'Alfonso, I'm never going to do that.’”
Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow recently reunited for an interview together.
Paltrow confirmed she was "really self-conscious about [her] dad and grandfather seeing this kind of stuff.”
"It really bothered me," she said. "Now, I wouldn't care."
The celebs reportedly dated briefly in the 1990s after meeting through mutual friends. When they filmed Great Expectations together in 1998, they were not still together.
