Sarah Jessica Parker wants fans to know just how dedicated Willie Garson was to his Sex and the City family.
The star and producer of And Just Like That… spoke a little bit more on her late co-star’s final working days in the newly-released behind-the-scenes documentary for the polarizing reboot, revealing that the 57-year-old stayed on set as long as he was physically able to.
The actress explained:
“If he could’ve stayed one more day, two more hours, three more weeks, he would’ve summoned the strength and pushed away the terrible pain that he was in. I mean like pain, like physical pain.”
Awful.
SJP continued:
“God, I can’t believe I can’t call Willie. I cannot believe I can’t call him. I just can’t believe it. And he would always tell me that he was the most popular character on the show – and he was not making a joke. He was quite serious. I was like, ‘If you say so!’ Turned out, he might’ve been right.”
Stanford Blatch was definitely a fan favorite!
Related: And Just Like That… Showrunner Shuts Down Any Hope Of Kim Cattrall’s Return!!
As fans know, Garson reprised his role as Carrie Bradshaw’s gay bestie in the first three episodes of the SATC spin-off. Parker previously revealed the New Jersey native told her about his cancer diagnosis before filming started, and that she kept his condition a secret from the rest of the cast and crew.
However, word eventually got out, and other cast mates, like Kristin Davis, realized just how little time they had left with the beloved performer. Davis, who last saw Willie while filming Mr. Big’s funeral, said in the doc, tearing up:
“He didn’t want us to know [about his illness] because he didn’t want it to be about that.”
The show handled Garson’s death by having Stanford suddenly move to Japan mid-season. But executive producer-director Michael Patrick King had originally written Willie’s character in all 10 episodes, which would’ve seen him go through a midlife crisis and split with his husband Anthony Marentino (Mario Cantone).
The 67-year-old showrunner told Variety on Thursday:
“There was a series of really fun, flirty, hilarious confidante scenes with Carrie that I loved. That old, old, very specific chemistry that Carrie and Stanford have, which is based totally on the uniqueness of Willie and Sarah Jessica’s history… Life and death is one thing in fiction: When it’s real, it’s not funny or cute. I didn’t want to even flirt narratively with cute business about where he is. I knew the audience would never invest in it, because they knew he was never coming back. It’s the most threadbare writing I’ve ever done just to move him along without much maneuvering, because it was just so sad. There was no way I could write myself out of that in any charming, cute way.”
It’s painful to think about, but at least Garson got to reunite with his SATC brood — and spread joy to fans — one last time before his tragic passing.
[Image via HBO Max]
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