Kim Cattrall Gets Honest

The Advocate has a fantastic interview with Kim Cattrall out this month, where she chats about everything from her love life to being typecast to, of course, her relationship with the other SaTC gals.

Do you get along with your colleagues all the time?” she asks me. “If you’re spending 18 hours a day [at work], the last thing you want to do is go and have a drink with the people who you just — you just need to get away.”

“I think people had a vested interest in this scenario,” she continues, referring to the tabloid press. “That on the show we were best friends, but in reality there was all this going on. And I think specifically they wanted to pit Sarah and me against each other because those characters are so strong. My character was such a fabulous diva. She’s flamboyant, and she doesn’t keep her mouth shut.”

Cattrall was reported to have held up production of the film after the three other actresses signed on, and she reiterates a number of reasons for doing so: Her father was diagnosed with dementia; she couldn’t see the script before signing; when she did see the script, she didn’t like it. “I didn’t think it was that great,” she says. “I’m glad we waited four years for a much better story line for all four characters.” And of course, the money. Cattrall doesn’t dispute that she held out for more, but she says it wasn’t out of jealousy over Parker’s higher salary, as was widely reported. “I never expected to be paid what Sarah was being paid,” she says. “Sarah’s a producer. But I felt that the offer was not worthy of what the three of us had contributed, and I spoke up about it. You know, my dad was a big union guy. He felt that the workers should get a part of it.”

She insists that reports she was only doing the movie for the money took her words out of context. Still, she’s candid about the fact that this is her nest egg, and she’s not getting any younger. “I’m a woman in my 50s. I’m not living with some multimillionaire. I’m it. Negotiation is about getting more money, and I think, Would they have a problem with this if I were a man? You look at James Gandolfini. He stood up and said, ‘Hey, I’m worth it.’ ” Her hard line appears to have worked. In March the Post reported that not only had Cattrall gotten a raise, but so had Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, thanks to her bargaining efforts. “Enough said” is all she’ll say in response to that. “It’s like, ‘Oh, don’t make any waves. Just be a good girl and take it.’ And you know, I’m happy with my deal, ultimately. I feel like I stuck my neck out. I fought. I don’t ever want to be on a set where I feel undervalued.”

I kind of love her for all this.

The whole interview’s great. Read it here.