Sarah Jessica Parker on Being Only 'AJLT' Cast Member Who Knew Willie Garson Was Sick: He Was in 'Pain'

Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis reflect on the death of their late friend and costar Willie Garson in And Just Like That... The Documentary — streaming now on HBO Max

Willie Garson; Sarah Jessica Parker
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

The cast of And Just Like That... is opening up about the loss of their late friend and costar Willie Garson.

In the documentary following the making of Sex and the City revival's first season, And Just Like That... The Documentary — which premiered Feb. 3 — Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis recount some of their final moments with Garson, who kept his battle with cancer private.

Garson, who played Stanford Blatch, the best friend of Parker's Carrie Bradshaw, in the Sex and the City franchise, died from pancreatic cancer in September. He was 57.

While most of Garson's AJLT costars were unaware of his health condition, Parker knew and witnessed her friend's "pain" firsthand.

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"You know, the last time I saw Willie, and most of us saw Willie, maybe all of us saw Willie was at [Chris Noth's character] Mr. Big's funeral," Nixon, who portrays Miranda Hobbes, says during the documentary. "Sarah Jessica was the only person who knew that he was ill."

While in tears, Davis, who plays Charlotte York Goldenblatt, adds, "At one point, Sarah knew and the rest of us didn't because he didn't want us to know because he didn't want it to be about that."

Sarah Jessica Parker and Willie Garson
Gotham/GC Images

Parker, who also co-executive produced the documentary, then detailed the strength Garson had during his cancer battle.

"If he could've stayed one more day, two more hours, three more weeks, he would've summoned the strength and pushed away the terrible pain that he was in. I mean like pain, like physical pain," she says.

"God, I can't believe I can't call Willie. I cannot believe I can't call him. I just can't believe it," Parker continues. "And he would always tell me that he was the most popular character on the show — and he was not making a joke. He was quite serious. I was like, 'If you say so!' Turned out, he might've been right."

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Garson had already filmed scenes for the Sex and the City revival before his death, and he is seen in the first two episodes that are currently streaming on HBO Max. His character was written off the show by way of an impromptu move to Japan.

The documentary additionally goes behind the scenes of the making of the new show, which picks up in the lives of Carrie and two of her best friends, Miranda and Charlotte, almost two decades after the original HBO series ended.

And Just Like That… The Documentary is available for streaming now on HBO Max.

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