‘We’ve got this idea that you’ve got to have it all worked out’: Kristin Davis on New York, nightclubs and being Charlotte

The And Just Like That star teases the rumoured return of a Sex and the City favourite, as she criticises ageism in Hollywood.

EXCLUSIVE: Filming in towering heels and a mini dress in a New York City nightclub felt like a homecoming for Kristin Davis.

There was a time, of course, when shooting inside one of Manhattan’s “it” bars was a typical day a work for the actor during her six-season TV run (and two films) playing the prim and proper Charlotte York on Sex and the City.

Now, as Charlotte, Davis has made her return to a nightclub – this time, on the show’s spin-off, And Just Like That…

“Charlotte needs to be more competitive with her younger co-workers – and she tries to keep up with them and goes out at night,” Davis tells Stellar. “Oh my gosh, it was so funny on the page, and really funny at the shoot because it was very much like the earlier days of Sex and the City.

“I was like, wow, we used to do this [going out] all the time!”

Kristin Davis at the premiere of And Just Like That... season three in New Yor k last week. Picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

‘It was very much like the earlier days of Sex and the City!’ Picture: Getty Images

Nicole Ari Parker, Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sarita Choudhuryand Cynthia Nixon of And Just Like That. Picture: Getty Images

Sporting oversized reading glasses, a white Dolce & Gabbana shirt with power shoulders that wouldn’t look out of place in Charlotte’s wardrobe and with her hair in loose curls, the 60-year-old is speaking to Stellar on Zoom from New York.

The mother-of-two has spent most of her career portraying the ultimate New Yorker – and is part of franchise that has been credited for challenging Hollywood’s representation of women on and off screen.

“I hope that it’s shifting the narrative,” Davis says, of AJLT’s depiction of women in their 50s. “It’s hard sometimes when you’re in it to be sure about what the impact is or isn’t, you know?

“We’re helping each other have a louder voice and talking about the fact that we’re still here, our lives are still going on.

“And I think if our show can be a part of that, we are here for it.”

Sarah Jessica Parker returns as Carrie Brandshaw in the third season of And Just Like That. Picture: Getty Images

‘Why should these characters be perfect?’ Picture: Getty Images

Davis points to the characters of Charlotte, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) – and newer additions Seema (Sarita Choudhury) and Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker) – for showing the reality of being a modern woman.

“Why should these characters be perfect? We’ve got this idea that you’ve got to have it all worked out.

“Don’t we all struggle in life? You never know what the right choice is! This is life. I wish there were more women characters [in Hollywood] like us that could live and search for who they are.

“I continually ask myself, ‘what do I really want?’ It’s rare to find [scripts] where women are able to really search and have options. They are pigeonholed in terms of wife, mother, girlfriend, single.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Davis’ co-star, Nixon. “Miranda was all about work and she was dating a lot of men, and having a lot of sex with essentially strangers – that has not been my experience,” Nixon tells Stellar.

“She was so cynical, and I am not cynical, I am a very optimistic person.

“I feel like I did, as I sort of got older, I gained some confidence from her outspokenness.”

Sex and the City stars Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon in New York circa 2003. Picture: AP

SJP, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall (AKA the OG stars of Sex and the City) at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles in 2001. Picture: AP

Kristin Davis has called for the return of her on-screen ex, Kyle MacLachlan, who played Trey (here, MacLachlan is seen modelling for Prada in 2022). Picture: AFP

Davis pays tribute to her close friendships with Parker and Nixon, with the trio having worked together for nearly three decades since Sex and the City premiered in 1998. “I’m a single mum, so my [friendships] are super, super important,” Davis says.

“Life is changing really quickly for all of us, it’s hard to keep up. That’s the challenge – can you stay open and curious and loving?” With every season of AJLT comes rumours of return appearances from past characters (the return of Samantha Jones, played by Kim Cattrall, in the second season broke the internet). So who would Davis like to see make an appearance? Her answer: Charlotte’s ex-husband, Trey MacDougal (played by Kyle MacLachlan).

“I feel like there could be many scenarios where it [Trey’s return] could work,” Davis says.

“I feel like in New York, you do run into people from your past pretty frequently.

“It would totally make sense that Trey and Charlotte would be at the same events or at the same restaurants.

“I don’t know if that would be enough for them to explore their relationship but it would be fun to do it, if we could?”

The third season on And Just Like That... premieres in Australia on Friday, May 30, on Max. New episodes are released weekly. Read the full interview with Kristin Davis inside today’s Stellar, via The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA).

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