Here’s The Unexpected Reason Sarah Jessica Parker Almost Said ‘No’ To Playing Carrie

Having recently re-watched all of Sex And The City during a particularly lazy week, I’ve concluded that Carrie Bradshaw is, in fact, the absolute worst. That scene where she sends Aidan around to help a naked, injured Miranda up off her bathroom floor, and then proceeds to complain about him instead of sympathising with poor Miranda – who’s in a NECK BRACE, FYI?

Yeah, that’s just the epitome of Carrie. She. Is. The Worst.

That said, Sex And The City would have been a very different show if Carrie’s character had been played differently. She might be annoying, but she’s the perfect complement to sassy Samantha, über-conservative Charlotte and #girlboss Miranda. Which is why it’s a little surreal to find out that Sarah Jessica Parker very nearly didn’t accept the part of Carrie – for a pretty weird reason.

“I really wasn’t keen on doing nudity and language issues,” she explains to journalist James Andrew Miller in new book his new book Powerhouse.

Having heard that the role of Carrie was in essence written by SATC’s creator Patrick Star with SJP in mind, the actress still took some convincing before she accepted.

“I said, ‘Really? I feel like I’ve got it all right now. I can do a play, then do a movie, then do a play, then do a movie. Do I really want to go back to making a television series when I’m maybe held hostage signing a long-term contract?”

Thankfully for SJP – and for SATC fans the world over – Sarah was finally persuaded to accept the role.

“Kevin [Huvane, her longtime friend and agent] continued to say to me, ‘This is different. You have never done anything like this before. No one’s ever done a part like this. Do this.'”

As for the nudity issue, Sarah was the only of the four lead actresses to have a non-nudity clause in her contract throughout the series. Which explains why it was Miranda lying naked on the bathroom floor in that scene and not Carrie…

• Sarah Jessica Parker
• Sex And The City