Actor Willie Garson passed away at 57-years-old after battling privately with pancreatic cancer. Garson managed to film a few episodes of the Sex and the City reboot series And Just Like That... for HBO Max before he died. The actor was famous for his role as Carrie Bradshaw's best friend, Stanford Blatch. In the new series, Garson is married to Anthony Marentino, played by comedian Mario Cantone. In a recent interview with People, Cantone talked about how Garson shared his diagnosis with him.
“I had no idea until he told me,” said Cantone. “I thought he was kidding. And then he turned his head and I saw his look and I went, and then I sat down next to him. We both cried and it was horrible.”
For much of filming, the only person aware of Garson's illness was his real life friend, Sarah Jessica Parker. After his death, filming continued and Stanford was written out of the show, moving to Japan to work with a TikTok star client. The show's creator Michael Patrick King did not want Stanford to die in the series either, and Cantone thinks they handled the storyline “very well.”
“I love that scene [where Anthony tells Carrie about Stanford leaving],” he said. “I think it's beautifully written.”
The show has not yet been renewed for a second season, but Cantone says the cast seems excited by the prospect.
“I think we all want to do it,” Cantone claimed. “I hope so. We had a great time this season.”
He added, “I hope I'm still in Carrie's life, in Charlotte's life and I hope to be in Miranda's life more too, since she has had a shift in her life...I hope that the business continues. I would love to meet somebody, you know, a man that I can have a relationship with whether it works out or not. I'd like a little bit more.”
