Kim Cattrall is totally OK that Samantha Jones and "Sex and the City" are behind her. The 65-year-old actor is opening up about "And Just Like That ... " — the "Sex and the City" reboot she was notably absent from — for the first time ever in a a new interview.
In an interview with Variety published on Wednesday, May 4, Cattrall recalled what it was like for her to leave the franchise in 2017 after she played the witty sex-positive character in the HBO series from 1998 to 2004 and its subsequent films in 2008 and 2010.
“It’s a great wisdom to know when enough is enough,” Cattrall said.
Although the show made her a household name, Cattrall said that she was "done" with the franchise after she appeared in the second movie. When she was asked to do a third "Sex and the City" film, Cattrall made it clear that she was never going to play Jones again.
She noted that she didn't want to "compromise what the show was to" her and she also wanted to take on different roles as a "character actress."
"Can you imagine going back to a job you did 25 years ago? And the job didn’t get easier; it got more complicated in the sense of how are you going to progress with these characters?" she asked. "Everything has to grow, or it dies. I felt that when the series ended, I thought that’s smart. We’re not repeating ourselves."
But when she was asked to do three movies on top of that, Cattrall knew that it was too much. She agreed to do the first film because it was supposed to tie up all the "loose ends" in the television series, but when she read the script for the third film, Cattrall decided to immediately bow out.
The third film was supposed to profile Big's death, as well as a storyline about Miranda's son sending her character unwanted pictures of his body.
"I would have preferred for all of us to have some kind of event to warrant a third film," she said. "That didn’t happen."
Big's death was ultimately tackled in the "Sex and the City" reboot, "And Just Like That...," which premiered on HBO Max in December 2021.
Cattrall, who wasn't a part of the revival, said she found out about it on social media "like everyone else." She added, "The series is basically the third movie. That’s how creative it was."
Cattrall and her former co-star Sarah Jessica Parker haven't been on the best of terms due to their long-running feud in the media. Things got so bad that Parker told Variety in February 2022 that she wouldn't want Cattrall to reprise her role as Jones.
Although Cattrall is not in "And Just Like That...," Samantha's presence is still felt in the text messages that she sends Carrie Bradshaw every now and then.
"It’s odd," Cattrall said of her character's storyline going on without her. "I don’t know how to feel about it. It’s so finite for me, so it doesn’t continue."
Cattrall noted that she still hasn't seen "And Just Like That...," but having the fans tell her that they want her back on the show has made her feel accomplished as an actor. At 65, she said she "feels powerful" that she "left something behind" that she's "proud" of.
"I loved her so, so, so much," she said of Jones. "It’s tough competition. The original show is in all of our imaginations. But for me, it feels clean."
"It was 2017 when all this was happening," she added. "I just thought to myself, 'No, this is right.' And you can’t go against that feeling. I don’t ever want to be on a set and not want to be there."
Cattrall has since moved on with her life. She's currently focused on playing the future version of Sophie in "How I Met Your Father" and Brenda in "Queer as Folk" that premieres on Peacock in June.
During the interview on Wednesday, she also ultimately put the kibosh on any plans of her returning to "And Just Like That ..."
When asked, she finitely said, "That’s a no," adding, "It’s powerful to say no."