Not looking back. Kim Cattrall has never doubted her decision to leave her iconic Sex and the City character behind.
“It’s a great wisdom to know when enough is enough. I also didn’t want to compromise what the show was to me. The way forward seemed clear,” the How I Met Your Father star told Variety in May 2022 about her reasons for not joining the reboot series … And Just Like That. Cattrall’s reluctance to step back into Samantha Jones’ iconic high heels has frequently made headlines since the release of 2010’s Sex and the City 2. While many fans hoped she would change her mind when AJLT was announced in January 2021, show runner Michael Patrick King wrote the sequel series without Samantha.
“It never was on the radar as four [leads] because Kim Cattrall, for whatever reason, didn’t want to play Samantha anymore while we were doing the [third] movie,” he said when And Just Like That premiered in December 2021. “I never thought, ‘Oh, there’s a hole I have to fill.’ Samantha doesn’t not exist in their lives. [And Just Like That] was born of these three characters: What’s their life, and who can I bring in to inform it?”
Cattrall confirmed during her conversation with Variety that she was “never asked to be part of the reboot. I made my feelings clear after the possible third movie, so I found out about it like everyone else did — on social media.”
The Filthy Rich actress realized that she was done with the character after wrapping the second film. “I was ready [to move on]. And this is exactly what I wished for: to be in different places playing different characters because I’m a character actress,” she added.
Cattrall continued: “And 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. I so enjoyed it, but I’m over here.”
Though she confessed that she hasn’t seen AJLT, the Mannequin star noted that it’s “odd” to know that Samantha still lives on without her. “It’s so finite for me, so it doesn’t continue. … Other than the really wonderful feeling of — it’s rare in my business — people wanting more, especially at 65. That feels powerful, that I’ve left something behind that I’m so proud of,” Cattrall told Variety. “I loved her. I loved her so, so, so much. It’s tough competition. The original show is in all of our imaginations. But for me, it feels clean.”
She later added: “I’ve come to the conclusion that really the greatest compliment I could have as an actor is to be missed.”
Keep scrolling to see everything Cattrall has said about leaving Sex and the City over the years:
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