Sarah Jessica Parker: She was very worried about Willie Garson

Willie Garson (1964-2021) died unexpectedly in September 2021 of complications from pancreatic cancer. The actor was only 57 years old. His “Sex and the City” colleagues, including Sarah Jessica Parker (56), have now said goodbye to him again.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Willie Garson were “friends for over 30 years, long before Sex and the City,” says the actress. The special thing about it: The friendship of the two in “SATC” was also similar to their true friendship, as she explains. “Although the lives and decisions of Stanford and Carrie are radically different from ours, their on-screen relationship was of a liveliness that seemed familiar to us.” Willie Garson played Stanford Blatch, Parker’s best friend, Carrie Bradshaw, in Sex and the City.

Sarah Jessica Parker felt “responsible” for Willie Garson’s health

It has recently become known that Sarah Jessica Parker was one of the few privy to Willie Garson’s illness. She already knew “that Willie was sick,” before the filming of the “SATC” spin-off “And Just Like That …” began in July, she now reveals. “He asked me to keep this confidential and I respected that.” Knowing about the “special, terrifying diagnosis” was “very stressful” for Parker.

There was a compulsory vaccination on set, “but there were still a lot of scenes with extras and I was very concerned that Willie would stay as healthy as possible while filming.” She could not share these worries with anyone. “I just kept an eye on him and in some ways felt responsible for his health and wellbeing on set.”

“That day was unbearable”

The day Willie Garson finally told the whole cast about his illness, Sarah Jessica Parker calls the “Black Event”. “That day was unbearable,” said the actress. It was Garson’s “last day he worked with us”.

“One of the things he said to me the last time we talked to me was that he had seen it all,” Parker concludes her statement. “He was like me; he was a curious, insatiable person. He wanted to taste, smell, experience, feel, know, understand and leave with memories. And he did. He has no regrets.”

Willie Garson played Stanford Blatch in both the HBO series “Sex and the City” (1998-2004) and in the 2008 and 2010 movies. In the spin-off “And Just Like That …”, which premiered last week and can be seen in Germany on the pay-TV provider Sky, he can be seen in his prime role for the last time.