It might seem impossible to imagine anyone other than Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones, but the now iconic character initially took her some convincing.
The Golden Globe winner recently revealed that she turned down the part in HBO‘s Sex and the City four times before signing on due to “self-inflicted ageism” over being 41 in such a sexually confident role.
“Well, that changed — 40 became sexy. It became, ‘Man, let’s have more of that,” she explained to The Times of what persuaded her.
“She wasn’t a nymphomaniac — well, some people might have thought she was — but she was just enjoying the main course. Everyone else was nibbling on the appetisers when she was going for the steak. And it was always on her terms — that I always insisted on,” added Cattrall. “But I’m the antithesis of her [Samantha] in many ways. I’m a serial monogamist, and then some.”
Cattrall said of the beloved role, “I created a fantastic character that I loved, and I put a lot of love in it. And if I’m remembered only for that, then that’s really OK.”
Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall in ‘Sex and the City’
Max
Based on Candace Bushnell’s New York Observer column, Sex and the City ran for six seasons on HBO from 1998 to 2004, followed by two theatrically-released feature films in 2008 and 2010, as well as the CW prequel series The Carrie Diaries (2013-’14). The sequel series And Just Like That… debuted on HBO Max in 2021, kicking off its third season on May 29.
After opening up about her behind-the-scenes differences with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker, Cattrall opted not to reunite with Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis in And Just Like That…but she still graced fans with a brief Samantha appearance in the Season 2 finale after Deadline reported the cameo back in 2023.
