Kristin Davis Chats About Former Schoolmate, Calista!
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Vaughanster
Jan 12, 2008, 10:26:39 PM1/12/08
to Calistas
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/celebrity/article3149960.ece
As an actress, Kristin Davis swings effortlessly between sexy,
sophisticated comedy - some might even call her hit television series
and upcoming movie, Sex and the City, bawdy - and yummy-mummy
innocence. Today, in the cosy Santa Monica home of Elizabeth Stewart,
her stylist and best friend, she is definitely at the innocent end. As
a puppy chews her Louis Vuitton sandal, she plays with kids (she is
single herself) and pops frozen cookie dough into the oven.
"I'm known as a comedic actress," she explains, munching on a warm
cookie, "not a dramatic one." Born in Colorado, Davis, 42, started her
career on General Hospital and Melrose Place before turning up in
every television comedy show from Seinfeld to Friends. She finally hit
the big time as the uptight but hot Charlotte York in Sex and the
City.
"There are not a lot of comedic films being made," she says of her
career since SATC. "Most comedies these days focus on men. So, sooner
or later, every comedic actress is going to play the wife or
girlfriend - even Sarah Jessica [Parker, her Sex and the City co-star
and good friend]. Sometimes you hear people ask, 'Why did she choose
this?' It's not necessarily to pay your bills, it's because you want
to work. What are we supposed to do? Sit around? The problem is, every
good actress wants every good role. Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman,
Angelina Jolie - they all want the same roles I want. The reality is,
you want to keep working, and you only have the choices you're
offered."
Since the series ended, three years ago, Davis has reinvented herself
as a warm and fuzzy wife in The Shaggy Dog (2006) and Deck the Halls
(2006), in which she co-starred with Sarah Jessica's husband, Matthew
Broderick. "I love Matthew, but it was odd having to kiss him. I
didn't want to do it, but he kept asking, 'What's the problem?'. " She
also appeared in the pilot of a television series that never made it
to air.
Now, though, with snatched paparazzi shots from the hotly anticipated
Sex and the City movie posted all over the internet, Davis is back to
bawdy once again. Will Charlotte finally get her wish for a baby?
"Well," she giggles, "we all know how important a baby is to
Charlotte." And that's all she will let slip about the film's closely
guarded plot. "I'm not allowed to say," she smiles.
Does Davis feel any pressure for the film to fulfil its potential as
the hit of the summer? "That scares me. I know people miss the show --
so do we -- but we never expected all this attention, or all the
photos, none of which has been officially released. But when you shoot
on the streets of New York -- which is what Sex and the City is all
about -- you can't hide from photographers. I can't go anywhere without
make-up. It's flattering that people care, but it puts a lot of
pressure on us to make a great movie that our fans will love."
The hopes of those fans have already been dashed once, when an early
film script, written by the show's main writer/producer, Michael
Patrick King, initially fell through. "We had a contract to do the
movie even before the show ended," Davis confides, "and we were all so
sad when it didn't happen. Now Michael Patrick's written another
script. He wants Sex and the City to be now, so it is very much set in
2008 -- three years later in all their lives."
One thing that hasn't changed is the fashion. Patricia Field is back
on board as stylist, and the ladies will all be decked out in ever-
more-fanciful designer bags, shoes and clothes. "The show was
definitely an education in fashion," Davis recalls. "I was an actress/
waitress in New York before that, and I loved looking at Vogue, but
could never afford designer clothes. Fashion for me was a real
learning curve. The first season, I complained bitterly to Pat Field.
Everything was so tight. I'd never dressed that way. Pat wanted
Charlotte's look to be sexy secretary. And the only clothes around
like that in 1997 were Dolce dresses and skirts. I kept whining, 'It's
too tight.' Pat would just say, 'You're wrong, wrong, wrong.' "
Eventually, Davis caved in -- just as the fashion world caved in to the
show. By season two, big luxury houses were asking the actresses to
wear their most coveted clothes. "In my personal life, though, I
didn't really know what to wear," Davis says. "I could so easily get
it wrong -- and, one year, I did. I was meant to wear a dress to the
Golden Globes that I loved -- then, 10 days before the event, I got a
call saying that Gisele was going to be wearing the same dress on the
cover of W. I didn't know what to do except call Elizabeth, who was
then a magazine editor, and who happened to be dressing Calista
Flockhart, who I went to college with. I'd noticed Calista starting to
look amazing. So Elizabeth got me this amazing white Donna Karan dress
in time for the Globes."
Davis quickly became known as a fashionista actress for her countless
lovely dresses, including a wonderful champagne MaxMara number that
she wore to a Vanity Fair Oscar party, and is among her favourites. "I
do like pretty dresses," she says, "and I don't want them to be too
tight or too ornate. I've learnt not to dress like Charlotte, which
means no ponytails and no pink. It's too confusing."
Meanwhile, you won't find Davis commenting on whether she's more the
bawdy girl or the good girl behind the scenes. "We all have many
sides," she says. "My friends know the real me, and I don't feel
pressure to be just one thing. I've managed to keep my personal life
fairly private, which has taken a lot of work -- but it really helps."
When Parker married Broderick and had a child, Davis watched the
paparazzi follow them relentlessly around New York and decided to
avoid the gossip columns. "It's hard enough to be single and semi-
famous," she says. "Not that I'm complaining -- I'm grateful for all
the wonderful things that have happened to me. But media pressure can
kill a budding relationship. So, unlike Charlotte, you will not see me
sipping cocktails with fabulous men in fabulous boîtes, then going
home with them. I'm not saying I don't date. But my life is not Sex
and the City -- and, if it was, how sad would that be?"
Sad?
Sex and the City: The Movie is due for release in May
As an actress, Kristin Davis swings effortlessly between sexy,
sophisticated comedy - some might even call her hit television series
and upcoming movie, Sex and the City, bawdy - and yummy-mummy
innocence. Today, in the cosy Santa Monica home of Elizabeth Stewart,
her stylist and best friend, she is definitely at the innocent end. As
a puppy chews her Louis Vuitton sandal, she plays with kids (she is
single herself) and pops frozen cookie dough into the oven.
"I'm known as a comedic actress," she explains, munching on a warm
cookie, "not a dramatic one." Born in Colorado, Davis, 42, started her
career on General Hospital and Melrose Place before turning up in
every television comedy show from Seinfeld to Friends. She finally hit
the big time as the uptight but hot Charlotte York in Sex and the
City.
"There are not a lot of comedic films being made," she says of her
career since SATC. "Most comedies these days focus on men. So, sooner
or later, every comedic actress is going to play the wife or
girlfriend - even Sarah Jessica [Parker, her Sex and the City co-star
and good friend]. Sometimes you hear people ask, 'Why did she choose
this?' It's not necessarily to pay your bills, it's because you want
to work. What are we supposed to do? Sit around? The problem is, every
good actress wants every good role. Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman,
Angelina Jolie - they all want the same roles I want. The reality is,
you want to keep working, and you only have the choices you're
offered."
Since the series ended, three years ago, Davis has reinvented herself
as a warm and fuzzy wife in The Shaggy Dog (2006) and Deck the Halls
(2006), in which she co-starred with Sarah Jessica's husband, Matthew
Broderick. "I love Matthew, but it was odd having to kiss him. I
didn't want to do it, but he kept asking, 'What's the problem?'. " She
also appeared in the pilot of a television series that never made it
to air.
Now, though, with snatched paparazzi shots from the hotly anticipated
Sex and the City movie posted all over the internet, Davis is back to
bawdy once again. Will Charlotte finally get her wish for a baby?
"Well," she giggles, "we all know how important a baby is to
Charlotte." And that's all she will let slip about the film's closely
guarded plot. "I'm not allowed to say," she smiles.
Does Davis feel any pressure for the film to fulfil its potential as
the hit of the summer? "That scares me. I know people miss the show --
so do we -- but we never expected all this attention, or all the
photos, none of which has been officially released. But when you shoot
on the streets of New York -- which is what Sex and the City is all
about -- you can't hide from photographers. I can't go anywhere without
make-up. It's flattering that people care, but it puts a lot of
pressure on us to make a great movie that our fans will love."
The hopes of those fans have already been dashed once, when an early
film script, written by the show's main writer/producer, Michael
Patrick King, initially fell through. "We had a contract to do the
movie even before the show ended," Davis confides, "and we were all so
sad when it didn't happen. Now Michael Patrick's written another
script. He wants Sex and the City to be now, so it is very much set in
2008 -- three years later in all their lives."
One thing that hasn't changed is the fashion. Patricia Field is back
on board as stylist, and the ladies will all be decked out in ever-
more-fanciful designer bags, shoes and clothes. "The show was
definitely an education in fashion," Davis recalls. "I was an actress/
waitress in New York before that, and I loved looking at Vogue, but
could never afford designer clothes. Fashion for me was a real
learning curve. The first season, I complained bitterly to Pat Field.
Everything was so tight. I'd never dressed that way. Pat wanted
Charlotte's look to be sexy secretary. And the only clothes around
like that in 1997 were Dolce dresses and skirts. I kept whining, 'It's
too tight.' Pat would just say, 'You're wrong, wrong, wrong.' "
Eventually, Davis caved in -- just as the fashion world caved in to the
show. By season two, big luxury houses were asking the actresses to
wear their most coveted clothes. "In my personal life, though, I
didn't really know what to wear," Davis says. "I could so easily get
it wrong -- and, one year, I did. I was meant to wear a dress to the
Golden Globes that I loved -- then, 10 days before the event, I got a
call saying that Gisele was going to be wearing the same dress on the
cover of W. I didn't know what to do except call Elizabeth, who was
then a magazine editor, and who happened to be dressing Calista
Flockhart, who I went to college with. I'd noticed Calista starting to
look amazing. So Elizabeth got me this amazing white Donna Karan dress
in time for the Globes."
Davis quickly became known as a fashionista actress for her countless
lovely dresses, including a wonderful champagne MaxMara number that
she wore to a Vanity Fair Oscar party, and is among her favourites. "I
do like pretty dresses," she says, "and I don't want them to be too
tight or too ornate. I've learnt not to dress like Charlotte, which
means no ponytails and no pink. It's too confusing."
Meanwhile, you won't find Davis commenting on whether she's more the
bawdy girl or the good girl behind the scenes. "We all have many
sides," she says. "My friends know the real me, and I don't feel
pressure to be just one thing. I've managed to keep my personal life
fairly private, which has taken a lot of work -- but it really helps."
When Parker married Broderick and had a child, Davis watched the
paparazzi follow them relentlessly around New York and decided to
avoid the gossip columns. "It's hard enough to be single and semi-
famous," she says. "Not that I'm complaining -- I'm grateful for all
the wonderful things that have happened to me. But media pressure can
kill a budding relationship. So, unlike Charlotte, you will not see me
sipping cocktails with fabulous men in fabulous boîtes, then going
home with them. I'm not saying I don't date. But my life is not Sex
and the City -- and, if it was, how sad would that be?"
Sad?
Sex and the City: The Movie is due for release in May
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages