NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 21: Actress Kristin Davis is seen arriving to the God's Love We Deliver Golden Heart Awards at Cathedral of St. John the Divine on October 21, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)
Kristin, 59, admitted she was “never a fan” of the show’s pilot during the Monday, January 13, episode of her “Are You a Charlotte?” podcast. However, she had faith that the “choppy and hectic” pilot could turn into a “good” show.
The Cash Outactress explained that a producer knocked on the door of her trailer to have her sign a contract when the pilot was being shot.
“One day, I’m in my trailer and she knocks on my door and I opened it and she says, ‘Oh, well, we have this paperwork we need you to fill out,’” Kristin recalled. “And I was like, ‘OK.’ I take the paperwork and I look at it and it seems to be a new contract, but it’s only two pages long, and I’m like, ‘What is this?’ And it says, ‘You will be a recurring character and you will be paid $5,000.”
Kristin then decided to call her lawyer to seek advice on whether she should sign the contact based on the $5,000 pay.
“I know that the pilot’s costing a lot and that they’re stressed at HBO about it,” the Colorado native reflected. “I think the pilot cost like $2.5 million roughly, which at the time was a lot because no one really filmed in Manhattan.”
After she was advised not to sign the contract, she waited to see if series creator Darren Star would say anything about it.
“So I thought, ‘Well, if Darren’s not saying anything to me about it, then everything must be OK,’” she said. “I don’t know. I was scared. But it was also very clear from the book and from the script and from the pilot that Charlotte’s point of view was a different point of view than the other girls.”
VENICE, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 14: Kristin Davis attends the Launch of Highbrow Hippie Haircare & Wellness at Gjelina on November 14, 2024 in Venice, California. (Photo by Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for Highbrow Hippie Haircare & Wellness)Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for Highbrow Hippie Haircare & Wellness
In the end, Kristin felt like her character, Charlotte York, brought a special something to the show’s iconic friend group, even though her character had quite a different persona than the other three leads.
“Honestly, when I looked back on it, I do think they were trying to save money, but I also think they were like: ‘Well, she’s so different, and the other three are kind of powerful,’” Kristin said. “I knew she was different; it’s definitely different, but in my gut, I felt like it was really important to have this other character.”
“So even though I was super stressed about this weird paperwork thing, I did feel like: ‘No, no, they need me,’” the Golden Globe nominee revealed. “I felt inside that they needed me, and I’m so happy that I did because, obviously, it could have really gone wrong. Anyone can get recast or cut at any time in our business, but in my gut, I didn’t feel like that would happen.”
Kristin portrayed Charlotte for six seasons of the HBO series and currently stars in the show’s revival, And Just Like That…, on Max.