It’s no secret that Hollywood tends to feature and fixate on younger women, and that many older actresses are often overlooked for roles. But Kim Cattrall proves that age doesn’t need to be a barrier.
Believe it or not, Cattrall had just turned 40 years old when she got the offer to play the infamously saucy Samantha Jones in the HBO series Sex and the City. But she didn’t accept right away, explaining that she initially assumed that she was too old for the job. “When they offered me the role, I just turned 40. And this was in 1997. And 40 in 1997 was not 40 today — you were kind of ‘over,’” she told Katie Couric during the Forbes Power Women’s Summit on Friday.
Luckily for her fans, then-showrunner Darren Starr persuaded Cattrall to change her mind, saying the role would give her the chance to redefine what 40 looked like — and she took a chance. “So at 41 with just that promise, I took that step. And I’m so glad I did — she changed my life,” Cattrall said.
During Cattrall’s wide-ranging interview with Katie, she opened up about what it was like to play her legendary character, plus whether she’d ever consider doing a spin-off series.
Kim Cattrall on what it was really like to play Samantha Jones
Cattrall’s character went on to become a fan favorite for her unforgettable one-liners and unapologetic attitude. (Samantha practically put the sex in Sex and the City.) And as it turns out, she was just as entertaining to play as she was to watch.
“It’s fun to play [Samantha], she’s infectious. She has such goodwill. She’s so funny and self-deprecating…I wish I had a Samantha in my life,” she told Katie.
Would Kim Cattrall ever consider doing her own Sex and the City series?
Cattrall isn’t ruling out a spin-off centered on Samantha. “I would love to hear a character like Samantha — her point of view about what’s going on in New York City, or London, or wherever the city is,” she said.
Maybe that spin-off could feature Kevin Costner? After all, Cattrall revealed to Katie that the actor is her current celebrity crush. “I hear he’s free,” Cattrall joked, referring to his very high-profile divorce from wife Christine Baumgartner. “But you’re not,” Katie quipped back. (Cattrall has been in a relationship with her partner Russell Thomas for the past seven years.)
What does Kim Cattrall think of Hollywood today?
When it comes to the state of the entertainment industry today, Cattrall acknowledged that social change has driven new filming practices: Now that the #MeToo movement has raised awareness around sexual abuse in the industry and elsewhere, almost every TV show and film now has intimacy coordinators on set to help facilitate nude scenes for actors. That’s something Cattrall said didn’t exist when she was shooting explicit scenes in Sex and the City.
“I mean, most of the scenes in Sex and the City, I would not [be] able to do that [now] without a counselor there,” she says. “It was just someone from the wardrobe department with a towel or a housecoat to wrap me up. Now there’s so much more protection.”
Hollywood is also undergoing some other reckonings, as evidenced by the ongoing writers’ strike, which is one of the longest in the history of the Writers Guild. Despite all of these growing pains in the industry, Cattrall expressed hope about its future, as well as a sense of responsibility to create more roles that are fully representative of women of any age.
“[Women] just get better,” said Cattrall. “Unfortunately, the roles don’t usually get better, so that’s why something like producing is very important to me.”
Here’s Cattrall’s full interview with Katie:
