Garson Has Fun (And 'Sex') In The 'City'

Actor Talks About Hit HBO Show And On- And Off-Screen Friend

This year, the status quo was turned on its ear when the sizzling HBO series "Sex and the City" garnered two Golden Globe Awards. The show's star, the vivacious Sarah Jessica Parker, won for best performance by an actress in a television series, musical or comedy. But the show itself, the temperature-raising tale of four sexy women in New York City, was also recognized as the best television series, musical or comedy.

The provocative show, while featuring women as main characters, weaves men into its gutsy storylines. One male standout character has been that of Stanford, who's the best friend to Parker's Carrie.

Character actor Willie Garson has played many parts in movies and TV. VideoBlast: The many roles of Garson Clip: Garson on 'NYPD Blue'

Now meet the guy who plays Stanford on the hit show: actor Willie Garson. I sat down with Garson to talk about Stanford, why the series' star almost turned down the role, and what's ahead for the Golden Globe-winning show.

Willie Where
Garson is no stranger to television or films. His bevy of more than 50 feature film roles reads like the catalog at Blockbuster: "Being John Malkovich," "What Planet Are You From?," "There's Something About Mary," "Living Out Loud," "Mars Attacks!," "Kingpin," "The Rock," "Speechless," "Untamed Heart," "Groundhog Day," "Ruby," "Soapdish," "Troop Beverly Hills" and so on.

Garson's work on television is equally impressive. He's lent his talent to more than 250 episodes of hits like "NYPD Blue," "Friends," "Just Shoot Me," "Ally McBeal" and "The X Files."

But it's his role as Stanford on "Sex and the City" that has strangers in the supermarket whispering, "Hey, there's that guy from that show."

We meet at (the not-so-Hollywood hangout) Village Cafe in Hollywood. The country charm decor is a long way from the sleek interiors of New York, where "Sex and the City" shoots, but Garson looks comfortable. And why shouldn't he? He is, after all, one of Hollywood's most prolific character actors working today -- able to adapt to any and all situations.

Garson tells me, "Not everyone looks like Brad Pitt. There are people in the world that look like me. I think people feel that I could be living next door to them. That has much more effect on me."

Forecast: Cool
"It has everything going for it. This show has such a high cool factor," Garson says, talking about the HBO series that has taken television by storm.

But Garson tells me that with success comes the inevitable pressure to keep producing a top-quality product.

"This year it's kind of daunting. Sarah (Jessica Parker) and I were talking about this yesterday. Because we were under the radar before, but now it's like people are watching. It's explosive," Garson says.

"Today is the first day of shooting for the season, and (Parker) says she's going to have a talk with the crew so everyone understands we have to work harder," he laments. "Like we haven't worked ridiculously hard -- like 18 hours a day."

But despite the rigorous schedule, Garson certainly isn't complaining. He says that shooting a show in New York can be a very glamorous undertaking.

"New York is my hometown," Garson says. "We shoot all on location on the street. Every night is a party afterwards, (the show) spending the money. No one can shoot New York like (HBO).

"Every night (is glamorous). One night Gucci's throwing us a party, the next night, Fendi is throwing us a party."

Just Do It
"We've been the closest of friends for 15 years," Garson says of "Sex and the City" co-star Parker.

How did they meet?

"We were set up (on a date)," Garson says. "It was a dinner party and we were set up to sit next to each other. We had a long flirtation and ended up as friends and then after, we became better friends. We've been through a lot together, which makes (working on the show together) great."

And did they plan to work together?

"I was auditioning for ('Sex and the City') and I heard that (Parker) was considering it," Garson says. "So after my first audition I called Sarah and I said, 'I heard you're doing it.' She said 'I'm not doing it. I don't want to do a TV show. I'm not doing it.'"

Garson said Parker had done a lot of television series in the past and was working primarily in movies when the HBO comedy came around.

"For a lot of people who have started to have a really good career in films, it seems like a step back to do television," Garson says. "And it ends up in modern economy that that's not true at all. So she needed a little coaxing.

"I'm like, 'Sarah, I think you should do this, I think this is really cool.'"

And thankfully, she agreed.

Stanford You
"I didn't think I'd be on a show as successful as ('Sex and the City')," Garson says. "I mean, this show is wildly successful."

And his character, Stanford, is attracting a lot of attention -- from all kinds of fans.

"Surprisingly, one older lady told me that now that she's seen me in my underwear, she can die a happy woman," Garson says.

But Garson's character comes with a twist: Stanford is gay.

"When I auditioned for (Stanford), I did it as a guy who happened to be gay in New York. And when we went to the pilot it turned into something a bit more extreme," Garson tells me. "So, once I got past that, I started to find the character. You get your clues from the lines. All I have to play really is my relationship with Sarah."

In fact, his character is so believable that viewers often mistake him for his Stanford character.

"There was one radio interview show and I was talking about how it's not working out with this girl, and a woman calls in and says, 'He's gay, he's got to be gay.'"

The listener couldn't believe that Garson was a straight guy playing a gay guy on TV.

Garson laughs and says, "It's called acting."

But maybe the best thing about the mix-up is that women find him approachable. And for a single guy, how bad can that be?

William, Tell
"My career has been a series of steps, never the rocket ship. I don't want the rocket ship. I've got another 50 years, hopefully," Garson says of his busy career.

Garson says that while the next five months will be taken up filming "Sex and the City," he is looking at a couple of network television shows for next season.

And what can we expect from the HBO show this season?

"The fear is that we're going to have to tone it down as it becomes successful," Garson says. "They start out all racy and weird, people start watching and suddenly they become less sexy."

But so far, there are no plans to tone anything down.

And what scoop can he give us about this season's "Sex and the City" episodes?

"I can tell you that Mr. Big might not be gone," Garson says of Carrie's on-again, off-again boyfriend, played by Chris Noth.

He stops quickly and smiles: "I think I'm allowed to say that."

Photos by Jeff Lorch

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