Kristin Davis’ role as Charlotte York on Sex and the City cemented her as a Hollywood star — but it wasn’t always easy for her to connect with the character.
“We have very different lifestyles. I’m not married. I have never been married,” Davis, 58, said during the Monday, July 10, episode of the “Best Friend Energy” podcast. “It’s not my thing. I was never focused on it. It was never a goal, let’s say.”
Although Davis feels that the “real essence” of her personality is “the same” as Charlotte, she confessed that it “took some acting” to seamlessly portray a married woman and hopeless romantic on screen. (Single mom Davis adopted her daughter, Gemma, and son, Wilson, in 2011 and 2018, respectively.)
“I would stress out on those days,” Davis — who played Charlotte on SATC from 1998 to 2004 before reprising the role for And Just Like That in 2021 — recalled. “I would have a paragraph on a page of [the script with] the rules and the marriage [lingo]. And oh, my God, I would just be like, ‘How am I going to do this and make it real and believable?'”
The actress noted that her upbringing in the South helped her connect with Charlotte’s desire to be a wife above all else. Still, “it definitely took some work in the beginning,” she said.
During season 3, Charlotte married Trey MacDougal (Kyle MacLachlan) but the pair later divorced. Charlotte moved on with her divorce lawyer, Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler), whom she wed during season 6. Charlotte and Harry share two kids.
“I knew people like that. I knew it was real. Charlotte was didactic. She was 100 percent devoted,” Davis told listeners. “I wanted you to see the need that was underneath that. I loved where it went.”
She described Charlotte’s first husband as “not perfect” despite his social status and net worth but gushed over “wonderful Harry,” her character’s true match.
While Davis struggled to perfect Charlotte’s passion for the stereotypical happy ending, she revealed that she did “love” the character’s first wedding.
“I’m not really a wedding girl but, you know, Charlotte loved it, so I loved it,” she said. “I remember the experience of shooting the wedding. I must have tried on 35 Vera Wang dresses.”
Charlotte’s final choice of the tulle and lace-adorned gown, however, didn’t align with Davis’ personal style. “The poof one won and it was just, like, such a weird thing because it’s not my thing at all,” she admitted. “I would never wear that dress if I did get married. I would not be wearing that veil. But I was devoted to it.”
And Just Like That airs on Max Thursdays.
