Sex and the City Star Kim Cattrall Says Acting Beats Sex and Drugs — Here’s Why
Sex and the City icon Kim Cattrall says the rush of acting beats sex and drugs—by a mile. Opening up about her artistic journey, the Samantha Jones star calls the craft the most life-affirming high she knows.
Kim Cattrall is not here to undersell her day job. At a recent talk in Portugal, the Sex and the City icon basically said acting tops everything — yes, including sex and drugs — and then walked everyone through how she got to that level of obsession.
Where she said it
Cattrall was speaking at Tribeca Festival Lisboa in Portugal, reflecting on the work, the grind, and why she still chases it decades into her career.
The early years were not glamorous
Right out of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, she found the real world intimidating. As she put it, moving from school to auditions where people could simply say no was terrifying.
Worse, the parts coming her way were a letdown. Before she became synonymous with Samantha Jones, casting directors kept steering her toward roles that wanted very little beyond tears, pain, emotional chaos, or drunken messiness. Coming from theater, where she was used to playing strong, complex women, that felt small. She learned to turn all that rejection into fuel.
Why she still loves it
Now, after decades in the business, she sounds fully at peace with the ups and downs — and clearly still addicted to the high points. She said she loves the job, even when it is tough and complicated, because when it clicks, it is incredibly satisfying. She also described the best days on set as working alongside people operating at the absolute peak of their craft — her words were loftier, but you get the idea.
'It is better than any drug or any sexual climactic experience.'
What she is chasing next
Going forward, Cattrall said she wants to prioritize joy and curiosity — on screen and off — with whatever time she has left to spend doing this.