Pinned up against a wall with his face nuzzled in her neck, Gwyneth Paltrow was the envy of Timothée Chalamet fans all over the world when pictures of their steamy kiss were published.

The actress, dressed seductively in long black gloves, shared an intimate embrace with the floppy haired heartthrob in New York City's Central Park last year as they shot Marty Supreme, in which he plays ping-pong champion Marty Mauser, and Paltrow his love interest Kay Stone.

Clearly enamored with her talent, Chalamet, 29, has waxed lyrical about the Hollywood favorite-turned-wellness guru, hailing her a 'master' and an 'amazing artist' on the promo trail for the upcoming film.

But despite their obvious chemistry and genuine delight at starring alongside one another, Paltrow, 53, reportedly had competition from another A-lister.

Insiders told the Daily Mail that the role was first offered to Julia Roberts, marking the second time Paltrow has profited from her cast-offs.

The Pretty Woman actor, 57, was apparently concerned about the 28-year age gap between her and Chalamet, whose girlfriend is Kylie Jenner, and feared it 'wouldn't work on screen,' with producers unable to tempt her with increasingly inflating sums of money.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Timothée Chalamet (pictured on set) play lovers in the upcoming Marty Supreme - a partly fictionalized biopic about table tennis titan Marty Reisman

But an insider has told the Daily Mail that Chalamet (pictured) and producers were initially keen to sign up a different actress

'Julia was offered the role,' our insider claimed. '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 $20 million, but Julia's answer was still a firm no.'

Another source claimed: '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.'

Directed by Josh Safdie, 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.

He and his doubles partner - Douglas Cartland - later became the opening act for the Harlem Globetrotters, performing a table tennis comedy routine with frying pans.

Outside of the sport, the charismatic renegade met his first wife while she was already married, with her then husband discovering him hiding naked in a wardrobe. He later married Yoshiko Reisman with whom he had one daughter, Debbie.

'Julia was offered the role,' our insider claimed. 'She wanted to work with Timothée, but she turned down the role after reading the script which she loved.' (Pictured: Julia Roberts)

'Producers, including Timothée, tried their best to convince [Julia] they would gel on screen,' our source claimed. 'They kept upping her offer and came close to $20 million.' (Pictured: Paltrow and Chalamet on set)

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In the film, Mauser embarks on an affair with Paltrow's Stone, an old Hollywood star contemplating a return to acting.

Paltrow 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 $250 million empire.

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 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 told the Daily Mail last year.

'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.'

The Daily Mail previously reported how Paltrow 'convinced' to say yes to Marty Supreme after her daughter Apple learned that Chalamet was not only producing, but also playing the lead

It is not the first time Paltrow has taken on a role initially intended for Roberts. She landed a part in Shakespeare in Love, and won the Best Actress Oscar, after Roberts abandoned the project

Her last big silver screen appearance was in Marvel's 2019 superhero adventure Avengers: Endgame in which she reprised her role as Pepper Potts, Iron Man's love interest.

She most recently starred in Netflix's The Politician and lent her voice to 2022's She Said and an episode of 2023's American Horror Stories.

Paltrow - the daughter of director Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner - was cast by her godfather Steven Spielberg in 1991's Hook, four years before her breakthrough role in 1995's Se7en.

Four years later, she picked up the Academy Award for Best Actress for her turn as Viola de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love, a role that was initially meant for Roberts - but she dropped out at a cost of millions for the studio.

Ed Zwick regaled the sorry tale in a personal essay for Air Mail back in 2023, claiming Universal Pictures only agreed to put down money for the film when Roberts expressed an interest. But after failing to secure Daniel Day-Lewis as her leading man (she allegedly sent him red roses and a note reading: 'Be my Romeo') she found fault with the other actors and abandoned the $6 million project. It was later picked up by Harvey Weinstein at Miramax Pictures with Ralph Fiennes as the Bard.

Unlike Zwick, who said he has 'never spoken' to Roberts since, Chalamet might have more luck.

'Julia wrote Timothée a beautiful handwritten note, which he treasures, explaining her reason for declining the role, but saying that she would love to work with him in the future,' our source said.

'They have had the cliche conversation of how they have to find something for each other to work on, but where some might say that just to be nice, they both really mean it,' said the other.

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