Why 'Iron Man 3' Star Gwyneth Paltrow 'Can Retire'

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The event was the massive premiere of Marvel's Iron Man 3, but with People’s Most Beautiful Woman walking the red carpet, it wasn't long before conversation turned to Gwyneth Paltrow.

PICS: Star Sightings 

When asked by ET how she feels about bearing the title, Paltrow modestly said, "Oh god, don't embarrass me!"

Playing down the weight of the new label, Paltrow jokingly said she is more excited about the LEGO version of her character, Pepper Potts, that ET’s Nancy O'Dell presented to her.

"This is the biggest achievement in my life, according to my son. It's like Oscar and LEGO figure. I'm done. I can retire." Paltrow later asked if she could keep the LEGO figurine, which of course ET obliged.

Tony Stark's real-life counterpart, Robert Downey Jr., escorted his producer wife Susan down the red carpet between some very PDA. When asked by ET if he knows who bears the coveted People designation, Downey Jr. said:

"I read the whole article and it was a dead split even between Gwyneth and Susan, they just didn't have enough room on the cover."

The third installment of the successful Iron Man franchise brings back fan favorites like Paltrow and Downey Jr. and welcomes some newcomers to the movie, including Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, and Ben Kingsley. Favreau directed the earlier two films as well as played Hogan. This time around, he reprised his role, but changed hats to serve as executive producer. When asked about Gwyneth's People title, the Swingers star said he is not surprised.

"Of course! Is that really a surprise? Does that really warrant a headline? I've known that for as long as I've known her. She's gorgeous and I love her. She's the best!"

Iron Man 3 follows genius-billionaire-playboy Tony Stark and his superhero-alter ego, Iron Man, as they take on a new enemy. Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, and he embarks on a mission to find those responsible. With the third chapter of the franchise fresh out of the gate, conversation of Iron Man 4 and rumor that Downey Jr. felt he was too old to play the part soon began to circulate. However, the overall census on the red carpet begged to differ.

"They can't do it without him. It wouldn't be the same," Paltrow said.

"I think he can do whatever he wants," Favreau said. "He's funny, he's fun, he's great. He does great action. He looks great. The world is his oyster."

Ben Kingsley joins the cast as The Manderin, a super-villain who wields energy and uses illusions to trap his victims. He was asked whether he though Downey Jr. was too old. "He's a fountain of youth and joy. We need another Iron Man before he gets rusty," Kingsley said. 

And what did the Iron Man himself have to say about the subject? Downey Jr. likened the idea of a fourth Iron Man to that of having a child.

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"It's like having babies. You're having the baby and you go 'oh my god,' and then you see the thing and you go 'this is kind of cool' and then you forget [why you had it]."

Iron Man 3 hits theaters May 3.