Chris Noth has not played Mr. Big since 2010, but he recently got frank about the “Sex and the City” series during an interview with News.com.au, including a discussion about how his character has been misunderstood all these years.
“One of the things I tell people is that [Big] never tried to pretend he was anything other than what he was,” he said. “It was [Carrie] who tried to pretend he was something he wasn’t. He was always honest about himself — he never cheated on her. The relationship just didn’t work, and he went on to get married while she went on to … how many boyfriends did she have? She was such a whore! [laughs] There’s a misconception that Carrie was a victim of him, and that’s not the case — she was a strong, smart woman.”
Noth thinks 2010’s grandiose “Sex and the City 2″ got a poor critical response because it hit theaters during the recession. Also, because the movie took the ladies out of New York City and to Dubai. New York is “an integral part of that show,” he said, but the New York depicted in the show is not the one he loves.
“New York was a much bigger, more interesting place than just fashion and glitz and all that crap,” he said. “It’s become its own nightmare — it’s become Dubai, which is why I don’t spend much time there anymore. It’s full of tourists, Times Square is Disneyland … It’s almost like New York became the [fantasy] city that ‘Sex and the City’ depicted, which I find particularly boring.”
He compared “Sex and the City” to HBO’s other series centered around female friends living in New York, “Girls.” While “Sex and the City” was “materialistic, with the fashions, shopping and apartments,” he said, “Girls” actually “shows the reality of the struggle” of what it’s like to live in New York.
Noth has been synonymous with Big since the show first aired in 1998. He recently told the Sydney Morning Herald that “it can get a little tiring” playing such a big role. But Mr. Big may return if the “Sex and the City” franchise continues with a third film installment. Stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis teased fans by tweeting about some “news” earlier this month.
Noth, however, remained coy when speaking with news.com.au.
“Sure, I’ve heard rumors, but they’ve been sayin’ that s**t for 10 years,” Noth said of the tweets. “It’d be a great thing, but for now it’s all just Tweety-pie s**t.”