Blair Underwood Turned Down First 'Sex And The City Role' Because He Didn't 'Want To Play A Character Based On Race'
Blair Underwood turned down the first role he was offered on 'Sex and the City,' and now, he's explaining why.
'Sex and the City' fans can recall Underwood playing the role of Dr. Robert Leeds on the HBO series. He melted hearts as the love interest to Cynthia Nixon's character Miranda Hobbes.
However, this was not the first role that Underwood was offered by the well-known television staple.
Underwood actually turned down the first role he was offered on the show because he did not want to play a part whose character story was grounded solely in matters of race.
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Underwood, 59, sat for an interview with 'AV Club' where he recalled how "The first time they had offered the role, to be honest with you, it was about how Samantha, played by Kim Cattrall, was fascinated by dating a Black man and wanted to know if, uh, all of the rumors were true about our anatomy!"
He continued: "And I said, 'Listen, I'm honored, thank you, but I just don't want to play a character based on race, on curiosity about a Black man.' "
When he was offered a second role, he was careful to clarify that his original standard was still adhered to. He asked if his new character had anything to do with race, and producers assured him this was not the case. "They said, 'No, he's just a doctor who Miranda meets in the elevator, and they have a nice little fling.' And it was amazing," he recalled.
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"I think it [race] really did only come up maybe once. I did five episodes, and I think Samantha mentioned it once, saying something about 'a Black doctor' that Miranda was dating," he explained. "And that's really been a consistent thing in my career: not wanting to be boxed as 'the Black guy.' "
The lives of the New York friend group continues in Max's 'And Just Like That' after a third film adaptation was cancelled.
The series was renewed for a third season last August and will premiere in 2025.
