Kim Cattrall Passed on ‘Sex and the City’ Role Four Times

Kim Cattrall needed some convincing before joining “Sex and the City.”

In a recent interview with The Times of London, Cattrall said she turned down the role of Samantha in “Sex and the City” four times before deciding to join the show. Her hesitance stemmed from a bout of insecurity that Cattrall labeled “self-inflicted ageism.”

“Well, that changed — 40 became sexy,” she said of the cultural shift after joining the show. “It became, ‘Man, let’s have more of that.’”

“[Samantha] wasn’t a nymphomaniac — well, some people might have thought she was — but she was just enjoying the main course,” she added of her iconic role. “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.”

Cattrall went on to say that in her personal life, she is the “antithesis” of Samantha, describing herself as “a serial monogamist, and then some.”

Starring alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, Cattrall appeared as Samantha Jones across all 94 episodes of “Sex and the City.” The show ran from 1998 to 2004 and won seven Emmy Awards.

Cattrall was the only actor out of the original leading four who didn’t return for HBO’s spinoff series “And Just Like That.” Although she had a brief cameo in the Season 2 finale, Cattrall has largely separated herself from the franchise. In a 2022 Variety cover story, she succinctly described her mindset when she chose to walk away.

“It’s a great wisdom to know when enough is enough,” Cattrall said. “I also didn’t want to compromise what the show was to me. The way forward seemed clear.”