Cynthia Nixon reveals why she was ‘reluctant’ to appear in And Just Like That

‘It was a very hard decision. I really didn’t think I was going to do it,’ actor said

Cynthia Nixon has revealed that the only reason she agreed to return for the Sex and the City reboot is if the showrunners made the series more diverse.

In an interview with News Corp on Tuesday (28 December), the 55-year-old actor admitted that she had reservations about appearing in And Just Like That... due to “the lack of diversity in the original series”.

“It was a very hard decision. I really didn’t think I was going to do it – I was very reluctant,” Nixon, who plays the role of Miranda in the series, said.

“But the more I talked to Sarah Jessica [Parker], Michael Patrick King, and Kristin [Davis], about the things that I couldn’t go back without – a real sea change in terms of the lack of diversity in the original series, they were on board.”

Nixon added: “I was floored by how hard everybody listened, and how collaboratively we worked together to, not just redecorate the house, but to build a whole new house – that had us in it but new characters, too.”

Speaking of SATC, the Little Manhattan actor says she’s “very proud [of it] - despite it being occasionally tone deaf on race and gender”.

(HBO)

“Being Miranda has opened up so many amazing roles for me over the years, but the further I get away from Miranda, the better they get, because people have stopped thinking of me as just that one character,” Nixon admitted.

“But Sex and the City gave me an adult career. And I’ll always be grateful for that.”

Last month, Nixon praised And Just Like That for respecting “the spectrum of sexual identities” in an interview with Elle UK.

“It’s part of the reason we wanted to do the show – to go back and [undo] the things that we really got wrong,’ Nixon said, while agreeing that criticism of the show’s original “overwhelmingly white cast and lack of respect for the spectrum of sexual identities is true and fair.”

She added: “We had gay characters [in SATC], but a lot of the LGBT stuff in it was purely for comedic effect – and now rings harsh on the ear, I have to say.”

In 2018, Nixon’s oldest son Samuel Joseph Mozes came out as transgender.

Recently, Nixon, Parker and Kristin Davis issued a joint statement about sexual assault allegations against their Sex and the City co-star Chris Noth.

“We are deeply saddened to hear the allegations against Chris Noth,” Parker, Nixon and Davis said in the statement. “We support the women who have come forward and shared their painful experiences.”

“We know it must be a very difficult thing to do and we commend them for it,” they added.

And Just Like That... airs on HBO Max in the US and Sky Comedy in the UK.