Inside Willie Garson And Sarah Jessica Parker's Relationship
Willie Garson, the prolific actor best known for his part in "Sex and the City," died on September 21 at just 57 years old, reported People. The publication detailed the star died "following a short illness" and wrote he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Tributes for him have been pouring in across social media, including a heartfelt Instagram post by his son. In it, Nathen Garson praised his father for being "the toughest and funniest and smartest person I've known."
That toughness was apparent in Garson's work schedule, as he continued filming even through his diagnosis. The actor had recently been seen filming on the streets of New York City alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and Mario Cantone for "And Just Like That...", the "Sex and the City" limited revival series set to air on HBO Max, reported TMZ. His "SATC" family soon expressed their grief on social media, with fellow actors Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, and Cantone each posting a tribute on Twitter. Series creator Darren Star and executive producer Michael Patrick King also shared their thoughts about the actor to People, saying that his "spirit" and "dedication" were apparent whenever he showed up to work.
And while Sarah Jessica Parker has yet to publicly express her sentiments on Garson's death, fans of the fashion icon and actor can assume she's feeling the loss quite keenly, as the two had been friends for years. Keep scrolling to find out just how close the two actors were.
Willie Garson and Sarah Jessica Parker almost dated
While most might know Willie Garson as playing the "endearingly prissy" Stanford Blatch on "Sex and the City," the best friend of Sarah Jessica Parker's character, Carried Bradshaw, per Out, fans might not know the Garson himself wasn't gay. It wasn't a subject he often discussed because he didn't want to offend gay people. "People playing gay characters jumping up and down screaming that they're not gay, like that would somehow be a bad thing if they were," he told Page Six. "When I was on 'White Collar' no one ever asked me if I was a conman, and when I was on 'NYPD Blue,' nobody ever asked me if I was a murderer. This is what we do for a living, portray people."
In fact, not only was Garson heterosexual, he actually first met his "Sex and the City" BFF and co-star Parker on a blind date. "[Parker and I] were set up once," he said in an interview with Out. "[We] had a very long flirtation, and then just settled into being best friends, something I think really reads on the show. It's funny, she's said in interviews that every single one of her friends is gay 'except for Willie Garson.'"
And it seemed that friendship paid off because Parker can reportedly thank Garson for some of her major success.
Willie Garson convinced Sarah Jessica Parker to play Carrie
One piece of "Sex and the City" trivia most fans may be unaware of is that Willie Garson reportedly convinced Sarah Jessica Parker to take the role of Carrie Bradshaw. In a 2008 interview, Garson detailed the interaction between the two actors, who were already friends before the show started development. He said during his audition, other women in the waiting room were talking about the potential of Parker playing Carrie in the show. "I hadn't spoken to Sarah in weeks, so I had no idea," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I left the network, and I called her and I said, 'What do you know about this thing, 'Sex and the City?' and she's like, 'Yeah, I'm probably going to do it, but to do TV again, it's so hard, and everyone hates TV.' And she goes, 'Why, what do you know about it?' and I said, 'I think I'm doing it.' And she said, 'You're kidding me. Well, then, I should do it.' So we just ended up doing it together, which is awesome."
He then talked about how "luxurious" it was to be playing Parker's best friend on television, as they were very close off-screen as well. "If [you use] people who've been friends for 20 years, it really reads on the screen," he reflected. "...I, inwardly and outwardly, certainly am very different from the character. So it was a lot of us laughing. We could barely make it through scenes."