Gwyneth Paltrow brands Iron Man co-star Robert Downey Junior 'a wimp'

Iron Man 3 star Gwyneth Paltrow (Rex Features)

Gwyneth Paltrow branded her Iron Man co-star Robert Downey Junior a "wimp" after she donned the superhero suit for their latest film.

The actress, who stars with Downey in Iron Man 3, said the new film was her chance to "kick ass".

Appearing on this week's Graham Norton Show, she said: "I get to do a bit of action and I get to wear the Iron Man suit for a while - it's very cool."

She told Norton: "It's quite cumbersome but not so bad. I thought it was going to be terrible because in the first two movies Robert would put on the suit and start sweating, he'd have a nervous breakdown and would meditate and cry. He was in hell.

"So, I was like, 'Wow, I'd better start mentally preparing myself for the suit,' and I put it on and was like, 'This guy is a wimp, it's really not that bad."'

The actress told the chatshow host that her son Moses was "a big fan" of the films.

She said: "I'll never forget his face when he saw me walk out in the suit. It was a really good moment."

Paltrow said the seven-year-old was working out what it meant that she was an actress.

She said: "I love watching his seven-year-old brain put together who I am. We were at a Justin Bieber concert and Moses said, 'Maybe Justin knows who you are from Iron Man."'

The star said she trained "all the time" to keep her figure, telling Norton: "I've got to try and keep this thing together. I'm 40, I've had two kids and they're making me take my shirt off in Iron Man."

This week's show, which also includes Olympic runner Mo Farah and comic Lee Mack, is on BBC One at 10.35pm tomorrow.

PA