Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw and John James Preston, aka Mr Big, kept us gripped for six seasons with their on/off/on again/off again relationship – but could you imagine him being played by somebody else?Because that's what nearly happened. Although nobody could fill Chris Noth's shoes these days, SATC creator Darren Star has admitted he almost cast another well-known Hollywood star.
Chris Noth almost didn't play Carrie's Mr Big
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Darren said: "I was thinking of Alec Baldwin for Big initially. But I met with Chris Noth and I thought he was perfect. I remember the first table read, and how good he was. I'm not saying that Chris was Mr big, but he brought a lot of his own persona to the role."
The part nearly went to Alec Balwdin
And that's not the only big different that almost was. Darren also considered another actor for Carrie's other prominent boyfriend Aidan Shaw, was of course played by John Corbett.He continued: "We initially were thinking about Aidan Quinn for Aidan, but I think he wasn't available. I loved John Corbett in Northern Exposure, and we were like, 'Well, what's John Corbett been up to?' He just had the laconic, dudish vibe. But we kept Aidan because we loved the name."
And it could have been a very different story for Carrie and Aidan, too
Earlier this year Darren confessed he didn't want Carrie, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, to end up happy with Mr Big – believing the character getting a happy ever after went against the series' message.During an interview with Kindle Singles, he said: "I think the show ultimately betrayed what it was about, which was women don't ultimately find happiness from marriage. Not that they can't. But the show initially was going off script from the romantic comedies that came before it. That's what had made women so attached."