Without looking back. Kim Cattrall has never doubted her decision to leave her iconic “Sex and the City” heroine behind.
“It is great wisdom to know when enough is enough. I also didn’t want to compromise on what the show was for me. The way forward seemed clear,” the “How I Met Your Father” star told Variety in May 2022 about the reasons why she didn’t join the reboot series.… And just like that. Cattrall’s reluctance to return to Samantha Jones’ iconic high-heeled shoes has often made headlines since the release of Sex and the City 2 in 2010. Although many fans hoped she would change her mind when AJLT was announced in January 2021, the show’s organizer Michael Patrick King wrote a sequel to the series without Samantha.
“It was never on the radar as four [lead roles] because Kim Cattrall for some reason didn’t want to play Samantha anymore while we were shooting the [third] movie,” he said when the premiere of “And Just Like That” took place in December 2021. “I never thought, ‘Oh, there’s a hole I have to fill.'” Samantha doesn’t exist in their lives. [And Just Like That] was born out of these three characters: what is their life like and who can I attract to tell about it?”
Cattrall confirmed during a conversation with Variety that she “was never asked to take part in the reboot. I made my feelings clear after a possible third film, so I found out about it like everyone else— on social media.”
The “Filthy Rich” actress realized that the character was finished after the completion of the second film. “I was ready [to move on]. And that’s exactly what I wanted: to be in different places, playing different characters, because I’m a character actress,” she added.
Cattrall continued: “And no matter how difficult it is, and no matter how scary it is, to stand up and not be bullied by the press, fans or anyone else – just say that I’m fine. I’m on this track. It’s been so great working with you. I liked it so much, but I’m here.”
Although she admitted that she hadn’t seen AJLT, the Mannequins star noted that it was “strange” to know that Samantha was still living without her. “It’s so sure for me that it doesn’t continue. …Apart from a really great feeling — it’s a rarity in my business — people wanting more, especially at 65. It feels powerful that I left something that I’m so proud of,” Cattrall told Variety. “I loved her. I loved her so, so, so much. It’s a tough competition. The original show is in every one of our imaginations. But to me it seems clean.”
Later she added: “I’ve come to the conclusion that actually the biggest compliment I could give as an actress is something to skip.”
Keep scrolling to see everything Cattrall has said about leaving Sex and the City over the years.:
No, thanks
Shortly after Sarah Jessica Parker confirmed that the third “Sex and the City” movie had been canceled, Cattrall refuted reports from Mailtv that she had asked the studio to give the green light to several other projects before she signed up for the film. “Woke up 2 because of the storm @MailOnline [poop emojis]!” she tweeted in September 2017. “The only DEMAND I ever made was that I didn’t want to be in the third movie…. And that was back in 2016.”
The Blame Game
“Right now, at this very moment, it’s completely unusual to receive any negative press about what I’ve been saying for almost a year [and because I said] no, that I’m demanding or a diva,” the Ice Princess actress told Piers Morgan in October 2017 that she was accused of that she is the reason that SATC3 was not made. “And that’s really where I challenge the people from Sex and the City and especially Sarah Jessica Parker in that I think she could be better.”
Ready to move on
In the same month, Cattrall explained that she was not interested in making another movie, Sex and the City. “I can’t. My heart is not in it anymore,” she wrote on Instagram in October 2017 in response to a fan’s question if she could “find a way” to play Samantha again. “I moved on. 61 is not 53 or 41.”
She continued, “I’ve learned so much from Sam. She was my hero, but I want to rest and not work as much as I have done for years. I want a less hectic life. My decision reflects where I am in my life, and I can’t change that without being unhappy. I hope you will understand.”
Casting a shadow
When asked if she would ever work with her co-stars on Sex and the City again in the future, Cattrall didn’t hold anything back. “Never. Not from me,” she said in an interview with The Daily Mail in July 2019. “You learn from life, and my lesson is to work with good people and try to make it fun.”
Making a choice
When rumors began circulating in December 2020 about a potential HBO Max reboot series, the sensitive skin actress said she was glad that no one approached her about participating in the show. “It was a lot of fun, and I liked it, and being in new territory is always interesting. I felt like it was,” she said at the time on the Women’s Prize for Fiction podcast. “I’m lucky to have a choice, not that I haven’t worked on it. I have.”
