After Sex and the City fans have long speculated why Kim Cattrall was not a part of the reboot series on HBO, the actress set the record straight as to why in an exclusive interview with Variety.
"I was never asked to be part of the reboot," she said.
"I made my feelings clear after the possible third movie, so I found out about it like everyone else did — on social media."
Cattrall's character Samantha Jones was known for putting "sex" in Sex and the City as part of the core four characters, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis).
The show set in New York City ran for six seasons and spawned two movies after it wrapped in 2004. The four leading actresses reprised their roles, but Cattrall left the show of her own accord after the 2010 sequel to the SATC film.
In 2017, Cattrall made it clear she was done playing the outspoken and sexually confident businesswoman who called herself a "try-sexual"–meaning Samantha would try anything once.
But as an actress, Cattrall had her hard limits and turned down a script for a third SATC movie that involved a plotline in which Samantha received "dick pics" from Miranda's 14-year-old son.
She said of the "heartbreaking" plotline:
"Why can’t Samantha, who owns her PR company — maybe she had to sell it because of financial woes? 2008 was tough."
"Some people are still recovering. She had to sell it to some guy who’s wearing a hoodie, and that’s the dilemma she has."
She added there would have been an opportunity for her character's growth instead of being subjected to unsolicited photos from a minor.
"I mean that’s a scenario that was kind of off the top of one of my reps’ heads, and I thought that’s a great idea. That’s a conflict. Instead of an underage boy’s …"
When she initially heard about And Just Like That centering on the core group of women as a triumvirate instead of the quartet fans have grown to love over the years, Cattrall questioned how And Just Like That would work.
"The series is basically the third movie. That’s how creative it was," she said, in response to reading the script for the SATC 3 that featured the storyline of Carrie's husband, Big, dying.
"I would have preferred for all of us to have some kind of event to warrant a third film," she continued.
Since that wasn't in the cards, Cattrall said it was exactly as she had hoped:
"to be in different places playing different characters because I’m a character actress."
Cattrall is happy to have moved on with two TV projects, Hulu's How I Met Your Father, and Peacock's Queer As Folk–a reboot of the eponymous UK series that previously had a US version in 2000.
She is also starring with Robert DeNiro in the upcoming comedy film, About My Father.
Cattrall has not watched And Just Like That, nor does she plan to. But she said her takeaway was coming to the conclusion that the greatest compliment she could receive as an actor "is to be missed."
When asked if there were parts of Samantha that were still with her, Cattrall replied affirmatively, "Because parts of her are me."
"I played her, and I loved her. I felt ultimately protective of her," she said. "I just loved her so much."
Looking back, however, she has no regrets about leaving SATC.
"As difficult as it was, and as scary as it is to stand up and not be bullied by the press or the fans or whomever — to just say, I’m good. I’m on this track. It was so great working with you," she said.
"I so enjoyed it, but I’m over here."
And in response to any possibility she would ever play Samantha again, she said:
"That's a no. It’s powerful to say no."
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