Kristin Davis breaks into tears seeing late Willie Garson in “SATC” pilot rewatch: 'I have to stop'

Kristin Davis is still moved to tears by her late friend and Sex and the City costar, Willie Garson.

The actress, who played the inimitable Charlotte York on the hit HBO series, had to cut to commercial break on the first episode of her new Sex and the City rewatch podcast Are You a Charlotte? after she began crying while discussing his performance in the show's pilot episode. Garson, who starred as Carrie's (Sarah Jessica Parker) bestie Stanford Blatch, died in September 2021 following a private battle with pancreatic cancer.

“Oh my God, I forgot Willie! Oh my God, when Willie comes on the screen — I might cry, sorry, but, you know he’s so young,” Davis said, her voice becoming thick with emotion. “And he’s so beautiful and I’d really, I’d forgotten, you know? Sorry.”

Related: Sex and the City: An oral history

The 59-year-old had to pause the show during Garson and Parker's first scene together. “I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ We were just little, little babies, you know? And he’s so funny. And their relationship is so great, and they had been friends for so long, so I love it, that it’s on camera,” she said, sniffling. Her voice wobbled as she added, “I have to stop just for a little second.”

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Davis returned to further discuss the scene after a brief interlude. “I was thinking about the scene that Willie and Sarah are in together and he's telling her, like, ‘Don't go talk to him.’ And she's like, ‘No. No. I'm doing research.’ And she's so seductive and funny and, like, her eyes," Davis said. "I'm like, well, who could say no to her? Like, who could say no to her? She's incredible. So that was fun to watch.” 

Earlier in the episode, Davis explained that Garson was present for her very first test for the role of Charlotte at the HBO building in Los Angeles. “Willie Garson was there, and I knew Willie already. I had met Willie in Vancouver probably the year before, and I loved him so much,” she recalled. “So thank god he was there, because I had to wait for hours before I could go in and read.” 

He also helped make Davis feel more comfortable whenever her nerves decided to kick in as they waited for their individual readings. “We're there for so long that I'd be nervous, and then I'd get un-nervous,” she said. “And then Willie would tell me a funny story, made me laugh, and I'd be un-nervous and then I get nervous again.” 

Related: Sex and the City stars pay tribute to late castmate Willie Garson: 'He was a source of light'

In total, Davis said that she waited somewhere around five hours for her audition — with Garson at her side the whole time. “I go in. I read. Then I go back out. This is how testing worked. You have to wait and then they're gonna come back out and give you notes or tell you to go home or whatever,” she said. “It's very stressful. And Willie is just like, ‘Oh my god. I've had it.’ You know, he's so funny.”

This isn’t the first time that Davis has become emotional while remembering Garson and his legacy. She previously broke down in tears while paying tribute to the actor during a visit to The Tamron Hall Show in 2021.

"I'm still not together about it, obviously. It's hard, because we were working the whole time, and we didn't know when we started how sick he was," Davis said at the time. "He didn't want us to know. He was just the life of the set as he always has been, it was obviously horrible, the whole chain of events. We miss him, and the fact that he's not here is very difficult still."

Garson reprised his role as Stanford in three episodes And Just Like That prior to his death. His character was ultimately written off in season 2, with Stanford going off to become a Shinto monk in Kyoto.

Related: And Just Like That welcomes Patti LuPone and a returning face for season 3 (exclusive)

Listen to Davis remember Garson in the podcast above.

And Just Like That season 3 will premiere on HBO and Max later this year. Read about the show’s next chapter in EW’s 2025 Preview.

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