FILM INTERVIEW: KRISTIN DAVIS

From 'Sex & The City' To 'Couples Retreat' The Star Dishes on Men, Women & 80s Flashbacks

Emmanuel Itier:  What do you think about couples therapy?  Have you ever done anything like that?

 

Kristin Davis:  I’ve never done couples therapy, but I’ve done single person’s therapy and I think it’s great. [Laughs] But only if you’re in the mood.  I don’t feel like everyone needs to go all the time.  I think it’s something where if it’s the right time in your life and you’re trying to look at something or maybe work on some aspect of yourself, I think it’s nice to examine why you do what you do and what you might like to do better.  I think it’s a healthy thing.

 

EI:  Do you think the one-person therapy helped you?

 

KD:  It absolutely helped me. First of all, my career is rough — really hard.  One of the times I was in therapy was when I used to audition, and I used to audition everyday.  Sometimes I would have 12 auditions a day because I did a lot of commercials. So it helped kind of counteract some of the negative effects, because you’re going on all these auditions and they’re like, “She’s not pretty enough…she’s not tall enough…she’s too overweight…she’s not this…” I mean, every number of negatives, and you just needed someone to keep your head on and say, “Don’t take it in. That’s the business.  They’re gonna say something.  It doesn’t mean anything.”  So it was certainly helpful. I think I would probably call it supportive therapy as opposed to the kind where you’re reliving things or digging in the past.

 

EI:  How long did it take for you to overcome the insecurities?

 

KD: [Laughs] So funny. I don’t know that I ever really totally overcame… I think you’re always going to have certain things.  You’re human.  If we didn’t have insecurities, I think we’d be a lot less interesting. I think that’s one thing, as performers — people talk about “oh that person is so confident…” Confidence can be fantastic, absolutely — something that would draw you to a person.  But when you’re on the screen, confidence is not necessarily all that interesting.  You can’t get into a person’s character sometimes if there is only confidence showing.  So I don’t think it’s so bad to have insecurities.  It makes us human. So I never really got over it necessarily, but I did certainly realize that casting director does not have any real meaning to my life, and it’s just like now when you’re working and that day you don’t do what the director had in his head that you would do in that moment, and you just can’t go too deep into that.  You have your own things you want to do, and you’re never gonna live up to everybody’s… Like when they criticize what you wear or whatever. No one likes to be criticized, but you’re never gonna please everybody.  It’s the same lesson. And that’s a good thing to make peace with. So it did help me make peace.  I would say I made peace with my insecurities rather than getting over them.

 

EI:  Now you have a name and you’re known, especially for Sex and the City; how is that affecting the offers you’re getting?  Are you very much being auditioned or casted as the housewife — the Charlotte York kind of person?

 

KD:  Not so much really. I’m trying to think of what I’ve turned down.  There was a time for sure, right after the show, where that was the predominant thing, like The Shaggy Dog type of a character that I did, and that was kind of fun because it was a surprise to me that anyone would be casting any of the four of us that way. But then you kind of get over that.  You’re like yeah, that’s not really so much fun. [Laughs] And then, when they sent me Lucy, I was excited because she’s so different in Couples Retreat, and I was excited that they would let me play her because she’s pretty much a departure, and I did know Jon [Favreau] and Vince [Vaughn] and one of our producers, Scott Stubor, and I think that’s part of the reason that they…sometimes it takes another actor to see that you could do other things.

 

EI:  Is there a special kind of woman you would love to play that’s even more away from the…?

 

KD: Not necessarily.  I don’t tend to think that way.  Someone asked me last week what I wanted to do, and I said a western, which is true; I would love to do a western because I love horses.  They need to put some women in the westerns.  But I wouldn’t sit down and think about, like, “Oh, this is the character…” — not like that.  More just like, for instance, Jon and Vince kind of create a world — all their movies have a certain energy and vibe and pattern and rhythm to them, so when Couples came up, I thought, yes, I want to be a part of that world.

 

EI:  With Sex and the City, how was it the first day on the set? Did the four of you sort of gel immediately again, or how did that work?

 

KD:  We see each other before we’re on the set [laughs] – a lot, actually, this time, because we had a lot of pre-production things that we needed to do that I can’t go into.  We had a lot to do.  So we were working for three or four weeks before you actually saw us on the set, and we did our read-through of the script, which we did for every episode.  We sat at the same table, in the same chairs, since 1997, in the same building… That’s the part where it totally gels, and…I wouldn’t even say gels — I would say sparks.  Something happens when we get in there all together.  We’re all in touch in different ways, like e-mail, which is obviously different than being together in a group.  It’s hard to be together in a group when we’re off because Kim [Cattrall] is in England and Sarah [Jessica Parker] is at the beach…you know how busy we are.  But we definitely had that thing that happens when we all are together and Michael Patrick was there, and our director and our writer…  It’s pretty exciting.  It’s pretty funny.  It just has a life of its own.

 

EI:  Is it all sort of chaotic now that Sarah has the babies…?

KD:  From the babies, no.

 

EI:  Because we keep seeing all the paparazzi in the street…

 

KD:  Right.  They’re there anyway.  [Laughs] In terms of the babies, there is one baby who looks like me… I can’t believe I’m talking about this… But we’re not going to go into that.  But we’re all close, and [laughs] every time we get into this, [sighs] it’s so challenging because I think it’s just so interesting how people write about four women together as opposed to men.  You’d never hear people asking a bunch of men how they get along.  I don’t think anyone has asked the men in Couples Retreat how they got along.  We’re all close in different ways and we’ve all been together now forever.  It’s hard to really describe what it’s like to be able to have gone through the crazy journey that is Sex and the City together.  There is no one else that we could turn to and talk about “remember when…” We just have years and years and years of these crazy experiences together, and that’s really priceless. You can’t recreate that with anybody. You can’t even pull anybody else into it. So I have different relationships with each of them, and they have with each other.

 

EI:  Did you want the ’80s flashback?

 

KD: I did. I had the boring outfit in the ’80s flashback, but it works for Charlotte. But yeah, I enjoyed watching them in their crazy versions.  I thought it was funny.

 

EI:  Do you keep the clothes afterward?

 

KD: Yeah, last time I didn’t do so well because I had almost all samples, so when they sent me all the empty plastic bags with the tag that says everything that was on it, I was like, that’s not exciting.  That is bad.  So this time, I was like, “Do not give me all samples.”

 

EI:  The Charlotte York character has a more conservative style.  How would you say that is related to you? I don’t know how you feel about  fashion — if you’re very much into it and if you have the same style as her?

 

KD:  I like her style, for sure.  I am into fashion somewhat because of her and the show — much more than I ever would have been before, for sure, because we have to be knowledgeable.  It’s not like they just, “Here, wear that…” It’s a collaboration that’s lengthy and involved, and sometimes you’ll have an idea and you’ll call something in, and sometimes there will be something that you saw two or three years ago and you’ll remember and want that.  It’s quite involved, and I like that. It’s enjoyable. I love her style.  I’m probably not as conservative…

 

EI:  But elegant, nevertheless.

 

KD:  Thank you.  I certainly like what she wears, absolutely.

 

EI:  Would you ever turn something down if they proposed something on set…?

 

KD:  They would never propose anything on set because I’m talking involved, like 11-hour fittings.  It would never just be like, “Oh, here.”  Everything is altered…it’s very elaborate. Sure, I would turn something down.  Have you ever met Pat Field?

 

EI:  No.

 

KD:  You look up Pat Field. She tries, every once in a while, to press the envelope a little bit.

 

EI:  What are you wearing today?

 

KD:  Herve Leger, Prada.

 

EI:  There are some rumors that Miley Cyrus and Liza Minelli will be in the movie.

 

KD: I’m going to say that I don’t know anything about that!  [Laughs]

 

EI:  Are we going to see special cameos in the movie maybe?

 

KD:  Everyone in our movie is special. [Laughs]

 

EI:  Are you able to comment on whether you’re pregnant again in the movie?

 

KD:  I am not able to comment on that.  I’m so sorry.  It’s a bummer, isn’t it?  I feel the pressure.  It’s hard because we did sign this thing… They came with the script and, of course, we were dying to get the script.  I can’t even tell you the anticipation of getting that script.  We had heard from Michael Patrick the ideas, so we knew the bigger ideas, but to get the thing in your hands… So someone from New Line drives out to the house and they have it there in the little envelope, and they won’t give it to you.  They give you the three-page legal document that you have to sign first, and then they will give it to you.  They won’t even hand to — no assistants, no Fed Ex — it’s hardcore. And then, at one point, they e-mailed me that they had a new one and they were like, “Where’s your old one?”  I said, “It’s in my safe.”  And they were like, “Ours too.” It’s been very hardcore. So I certainly would never want to have any lawyers calling me.  [Laughs] But also, we want people to be surprised.  It’s tough in the city, as you know.  [Sighs] They photographed Kim’s side as she was walking our little script of the day — she had her sides in her hand walking to set, and they blew it up and they read the lines… It’s tough because we want people to go out opening weekend and spend their money and be surprised…

 

EI:  Is there going to be a third one?

 

KD:  I don’t know anything about a third.  It would be fantastic and wonderful, but… There are nutty rumors, as you know — someone told us on the set, “Oh, apparently we’re shooting both 2 and 3 right now.”  And we were like, “Wow!  Very impressive.” [Laughs] No, I don’t know anything about it.

 

EI:  Is there a chance that it will be back on TV with Sex and the City?

 

KD:  No.  I can pretty safely say that’s not a choice.  Why would we do that?  We’re spoiled now.

 

EI:  What do you think makes for a good relationship?

 

KD: I think communication is key, which I think is what the movie is saying, and you can’t take it for granted, which is the thing that Vince and Malin [Akerman]‘s characters go through, where they don’t have any serious problems but they’re just kind of coasting along, not taking time.  I think it’s very challenging in our world, with work and people who have kids and whatnot, to actually remember that you have to take time just for your relationship. I think it’s important to say, if you are in a relationship that you want to be in, that you’re going to do what it takes to be in that relationship.  But if you’re not going to do that, then I don’t think you should be in one.

 

EI:  How do you deal with problems in your own relationship?

 

KD:  [Laughs and sighs] You mean theoretically, right? Say “right” and then I can go on.  [Laughs]

 

EI:  Right.

 

KD:  [Laughs] Thank you.  Theoretically, I guess it would depend on what the problems were.  In my life, I guess the problems would probably be relating to too much work and not enough time.  So obviously, the situation where you have to actually carve out some time to be with the other person or be available for the other person, sometimes that can be hard in our lives, and it’s hard because you really want to have happy relationships, but on the other hand, we’re so lucky to be so successful.  It’s a bit of a challenge.

 

EI:  Are men scared?

 

KD:  [Laughs]  I don’t know.  Maybe.  Not all of them. [Laughs]

 

EI:  Do you have good a relationship with your past boyfriends?

 

KD:  Some of them. I would say the majority of them, and I like that. I think you have to have a boundary so it’s not unclear.  You certainly wouldn’t want a current person to feel like “why is that person e-mailing or calling” or whatever.  So it’s not like I have a lot of communication, but certainly…I’m trying to think.  I mean there are a few no, but mostly yes, like where you’ll hear from them every once in awhile and you’ll say, “Oh, I’m glad you’re doing well…” like that.

 

EI:  Do you still dream of having your own family, or do you have other hopes?

 

KD:  You’re adorable.  I don’t know.  Sometimes people say the craziest things to me about this. I went to a wedding event to give an award to someone who is a florist that I know, and out of that came, “Kristen gives up on dream of marriage.”  And I was like, “I never said that.  When did I say that?  What are you talking about?”  But we were at a wedding event, so somehow it’s like they could not separate themselves from the fact that we were at a wedding event.  I had never really been focused necessarily on the marriage part, and I had always thought that I would love to have children, and I still feel that way. I also saw something that said, “Kristen doesn’t want to have children…” I don’t know what goes on out there, it’s an interesting thing because I’m older than I thought I would be, in a way, but in a way, not.  I remember when I was real young and I was like, “I’m never getting married; I’m not going to have children ’til I’m in my 40s.”  Of course, I didn’t really understand that that’s challenging, which I think a lot of young women don’t understand. So I don’t know what’s gonna happen.  I think adoption is great and beautiful, and I have friends who have adopted and are so happy and they’re perfect…you can’t imagine it being any other way.  Maybe I’ll do that.  I’m not sure.

 

EI:  But are you also seeing it as kind of a prejudice against women who wait a little longer and work more…because people don’t understand it?

 

KD:  Sure, I think that’s true.  I think a lot of young women think it’s just easy, like, “Oh, okay, you’re 42, I’m gonna have a baby now. Wooooo!!” I literally feel like there are two groups.  There are women who are a little older and have friends who have now gone through the difficulty of trying to get pregnant, and that’s one group.  And then there is the younger group, who just have no idea, and they’re like, “Oh, I’m gonna wait. I’m focusing on my career.”  And I’m like, that’s great, but if you’re married and you love your husband, you might want to really think about it right now.  If that’s really something that’s super important to you, don’t take it for granted that it’s just gonna be instantaneous when you do want it. But I do think there is some confusion for sure, like somehow if you have focused on your career, then you’re not maternal… Whenever they put that in the interview, that’s negative.  That’s a subtext of negative toward a woman.  Not toward a man; toward a man, it’s fantastic. Toward a woman, it’s like, “Ooohhhh, she’s not to be trusted.” So I do think there is some confusion, because I don’t think anybody really is making any clear choices.  I don’t think anybody is going, “Oh wow, hey, I’m not gonna be successful in my career until later in life, and then I’m purposefully not gonna be doing any of these other things.”  It just happens the way it happens and you deal with it as best as you can deal with it while you’re in it, and sometimes it can work out and sometimes maybe you don’t get every single thing you want and you make peace with that.  And sometimes you just find a way, be it adoption or whatever different ways there might be to try to make the family that you wanted or envisioned, or that your partner wants.  It’s complicated. [Laughs] I’m all deep now. I don’t know how I got in here.  [Laughs]

 

EI:  Would you call yourself a feminist?

 

KD:  Definitely.

 

EI:  How? How would you define feminism?

KD:  That’s a good question.  I think feminists in general, with the youngsters, especially, are strangely misunderstood as though it means they were angry or something.  All I think feminism is is saying that women should be able to choose what they want to do and women should be paid the same for the same work that a man does.  It seems so obvious to me.  It’s not something complicated or weird or angry or whatever; it’s just saying that we’re equal.

 

EI:  Was there any situation that you had to fight to earn more money because maybe this actor is earning more than me…?

 

KD:  In general, men make more in Hollywood than women, but they can back it up usually with box office numbers, which is the way, in Hollywood, that it is figured out — how much money you’re going to make.  So it’s a little hard.  Hollywood is not exactly the best case to be looking at that because the men are generally the big action stars and tent-pole franchises, and it’s hard to say, “Well, I should get what they…” you can’t really say that. But certainly there have been times where I wished I could argue [laughs], but obviously we were treated super well on Sex and the City, so we have a fantastic situation there for the women.