One of the stars of main characters in Sex and the City played by a different actress. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon are as inextricable from their characters as the series is from television history. These actresses exploded in popularity thanks to Darren Star's series, so it's hard to imagine why any of them would ever have second thoughts.

Yet, Sarah Jessica Parker did have second thoughts. On an episode of the the first episode of Sex and the City in 1997, she more or less forgot about it. However, a few months later, Parker heard HBO had picked up the series, and Parker was dismayed, saying,

"I panicked. When the show was picked up, I was like, 'I can't be on a TV show! I don't think I'm suited for that life.'"

She'd done TV shows before, but none that would require the time SATC was asking for,

"I think that it was the idea of doing the same thing over and over and over again. I think I'd always been lucky that I got to be on a television series and then it was over. Like, I met great people, had a great experience, worked with great actors, great directors, thought the stories were interesting, wanted to do the shows, and they had shorter lives, maybe one or two seasons. And then I moved on and I would do a play or I'd do some readings, and then I'd do a part in a movie, and then I'd do, you know, a movie of the week. And I just kind of bounced around and I really thought, 'That is the goal. The journeyman is the goal. You want to be moving.' So the idea of a television series meant that I couldn't do all those things."

Parker even asked her agent to get her out of the project, saying she would do anything else for HBO if it meant getting out of this commitment. Her agent and the former HBO chairman, Chris Albrecht, talked her down, thankfully, and Parker realized the possibilities of the show,

"It went from being this kind of oppressive idea to this one with endless possibilities. And the first day we started shooting as a series, the location was up the street from my house. I thinking, 'I can walk to work. I'm not driving on to a lot. I'm not getting on a freeway and hoping I get myself there.' And I walked up to the location and I never looked back."

In retrospect, Parker is obviously glad she made the decision she did.

What Sarah Jessica Parker's Comments Mean For Sex And The City

Sex And The City Was A Lucky Risk

What Sarah Jessica Parker's comments about Sex and the City show is that the beloved and acclaimed series was not a layup in any way. In fact, a lot of things had to go right, whether by hard work or by luck, for the series to become the success it was. Up until the very last moment, Sex and the City could have been a wildly different series had Parker decided to pull out. It's possible that if she waffled, other actors or of the creative and production team would have gotten cold feet as well.

Our Take On Sarah Jessica Parker's Worries About Sex And The City

Parker's Fears Were Legitimate, But Everything Worked Out For The Best

Sarah Jessica Parker's fears about Sex and the City were not unwarranted. Television in the late 1990s did not look like it does now, and many actors and actresses considered going from movies to television, a step down in their careers. It was only with prestige shows like Sex and the City, The Sopranos, and The Wire that television began to be considered a legitimate path for "serious" actors. Parker was also not wrong, by the way. Her film career did slow during the show's run, and she only appeared in three movies between 1998 and 2004.

However, Parker was able to get right back into the movie-making business when Sex and the City ended, and it was not nearly the career-killer that she feared. Furthermore, the show must have been a great joy to work on, because she returned for two movie sequels in 2008 and 2010, and stars in the revival series, And Just Like That..., which will have its third season premiere on May 29, 2025. No doubt it was a difficult choice for Sarah Jessica Parker, but ing Sex and the City was probably one of the best decisions of her career.

Source: Entertainment Weekly