Sarah Jessica Parker has reflected on her final few days with Willie Garson before his death from pancreatic cancer last September at the age of 57.
Speaking in the And Just Like That…. documentary, Parker – who was the only person on set who knew of Garson’s illness – became emotional as she discussed their last moments together.
‘If he could’ve stayed one more day, two more hours, three more weeks, he would’ve summoned the strength and pushed away the terrible pain that he was in,’ the 56-year-old actress mused. ‘I mean like pain, like physical pain.’
‘He was in terrible pain’: Sarah Jessica Parker reflects on her final days with Willie Garson as he battled terminal cancer filming And Just Like That… (pictured July 24)
She continued: ‘God, I can’t believe I can’t call Willie. I cannot believe I can’t call him. I just can’t believe it.
‘And he would always tell me that he was the most popular character on the show – and he was not making a joke. He was quite serious. I was like, “If you say so!” Turned out, he might’ve been right.’
Garson – last publicly seen August 1 – reprised his role as talent manager Stanford Blatch in the first three episodes of the Sex and the City spin-off before suddenly moving to Japan.
Sarah said: ‘If he could’ve stayed one more day, two more hours, three more weeks, he would’ve summoned the strength and pushed away the terrible pain that he was in’
SATC throwback: Sarah was just as close to Garson as her author-podcaster character Carrie Bradshaw (pictured in 1998)
AJLT producer-star Kristin Davis, who last saw Willie while filming Mr. Big’s funeral, teared up in the doc: ‘He didn’t want us to know because he didn’t want it to be about that.’
Parker was just as close to Garson as her author-podcaster character Carrie Bradshaw, who once considered marrying ‘Stanny’ so he could inherit a fortune from his blue-blooded grandmother.
Executive producer-director Michael Patrick King had originally written Stanford in all 10 episodes, which would’ve seen him go through a mid-life crisis and split with his husband Anthony Marentino (Mario Cantone).
Heartbreaking: Cynthia Nixon, Willie, Sarah and Kristin Davis are pictured on-set
‘There was a series of really fun, flirty, hilarious confidante scenes with Carrie that I loved. That old, old, very specific chemistry that Carrie and Stanford have, which is based totally on the uniqueness of Willie and Sarah Jessica’s history,’ the 67-year-old showrunner told Variety on Thursday.
‘Life and death is one thing in fiction: When it’s real, it’s not funny or cute. I didn’t want to even flirt narratively with cute business about where he is. I knew the audience would never invest in it, because they knew he was never coming back.
‘It’s the most threadbare writing I’ve ever done just to move him along without much maneuvering, because it was just so sad. There was no way I could write myself out of that in any charming, cute way.’
What could have been: Stanford was written in all 10 episodes, which would’ve seen him go through a mid-life crisis and split with his husband Anthony Marentino (L, Mario Cantone)
The Before I Go actor is survived by his 20-year-old son Nathen, whose 2009 adoption at age seven was ‘the honor’ of his life.
Back in October 2020, Willie filmed his role as Willie in the indie comedy pilot Duke of the Valley, but it’s unclear if that will ever see the light of day.
Vince Van Patten and Duke Van Patten’s half-hour scripted series – based on the memoirs of the late Dick Van Patten – also featured Caitlyn Jenner, Eileen Davidson, and Thai Fong.
Only child: The Before I Go actor is survived by his 20-year-old son Nathen (R, pictured May 23), whose 2009 adoption at age seven was ‘the honor’ of his life
As for the prospect of a season two of AJLT, Parker is ‘definitely’ down for more and HBO Max CCO Casey Bloys ‘couldn’t be happier with’ the reception and ‘phenomenal viewership.’
‘Michael and I spoke two weeks ago, and said: “Okay, when are we going to talk about this?”‘ the two-time Emmy winner told Variety.
‘There’s a calendar and you don’t want to let too much time pass. There feels like there’s momentum.’
And Just Like That currently holds a 60% critic approval rating (out of 65 reviews) and a dismal 30% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fans can now stream the final episode – titled Seeing the Light – as well as the accompanying documentary on HBO Max.
Curtain call: Fans can now stream the final episode – titled ‘Seeing the Light’ – as well as the accompanying documentary on HBO Max
