Kim Cattrall might be best known for her role as Samantha Jones in Sex and the City, but there is more to this actress than a narcissistic nymphomaniac. A classically trained stage actress, Cattrall has managed to craft an enduring career that includes both TV and film work as well as stage productions. In 2010, she began a critically acclaimed run of Noël Coward’s play Private Lives in London’s West End. The Toronto production sees Cattrall star opposite local actor Paul Gross. The show opens Sept. 16 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.
Tell me about Private Lives, the play you’re bringing to Toronto this month.
This is a play that was written in the early ’30s that Noël Coward wrote for himself and his very dear friend Gertrude Lawrence. It’s beautifully written; it’s actually my favourite Noël Coward play. It’s about a couple who were married for three years and they’ve been divorced for five and now each of them has married someone else. And they meet again in this hotel on their separate honeymoons.
How is Private Lives, being a decades-old play, still relatable to a modern audience?
Well I think that great writing about the human condition doesn’t really change, no matter how many tiny computers and other things we have in this technological age. What we want — to love and be loved — and the sacrifices we go through, the dreams and disappointments he was writing about, that’s what Homer wrote about. We are creatures of habit.
What appealed to you about playing the character Amanda?
This was the original romantic comedy. The genre didn’t really exist before Noël Coward wrote this. There was comedy, but this was a real romantic comedy, and it spawned a lot of films in the ‘30s and ’40s in the romantic comedy genre. And I love those films.
I was fortunate enough to work with Richard Eyre [in London], a director who ran the National Theatre for over 12 years. I had never done Coward before and had always wanted to. He saw this as a very down-to-earth, gritty, truthful, funny, hilarious and painful intercourse between these two couples, these two women and two men colliding on stage — literally and figuratively!
Will the production in Toronto have some of that same grit and realism?
Yes, I think so. There’s a dark side to it, especially the Eliot character. He strikes Amanda repeatedly. Today, he’d be considered a wife beater. But the thing about Amanda is she gets it as good as she gives; she hits him too. She gives back. There are the very early seeds of feminism in Amanda, inspired by those heroines of the ’30s and ’40s. She wants to see the world, she has an appetite to see the ways other people live, to see other civilizations. She’s very on it, she’s very aware and has a tremendous amount of strength. There’s a lot to play there. I’ve done many plays and many film and TV characters and I think Sex and the City and this have been the two projects that I really had the most fun doing.
Well, it sounds like Amanda has some similarities to Samantha Jones.
I like those kinds of characters, whether I’m doing someone like in Ghost Writer, who is very contained, or Monica Velour, who’s literally letting it all hang out, the common goal for me as an actress is to play women who are strong and to give them dignity.
Did you find it was difficult to separate yourself from the character of Samantha Jones following the massive success of Sex and the City?
Well, it was interesting. When you’re on a long-term job and it comes to an end, you say “What now?” There is a let down after doing something that was exploring all types of new territory for women. It was so exciting to be part of that and go on that ride and then, abruptly, it was over. I took some time and discovered that I needed to go home — to Canada and to England — and there I found people who wanted to hire me to do things that were different. I did several plays in London and it just sort of grew. So I thought to myself, “I’d like to play other roles, let’s see what’s out there.” And people were very eager to work with me, and I was very excited about that.
Do you have any involvement in the upcoming Sex and the City prequel?
I know nothing about it. I hear rumours, but I don’t really know anything concrete — you probably know more than I do!
Well, we heard that Blake Lively might be playing the young Samantha Jones. What do you think about that casting?
I hadn’t heard that, but I had heard that she’s dating Leonardo DiCaprio! You know, I’ve never really watched Gossip Girl, but I think she’s a good actress — I’ve seen her in a few films. She’s quite talented and she’s certainly beautiful, so I think that would be terrific if she were playing any one of the characters.
What do you like about performing in Toronto?
There’s a tremendous amount of support in Toronto for theatre. I went to see a lot of theatre when I was living in Toronto, I very much enjoyed living in Toronto. I remember my film experiences and theatre experiences as being very much supported by the city and the people of the city.
Do you have any favourite places to visit in Toronto when you’re back in town?
I’m a big fan of Jamie Kennedy. I think he’s a true artist and I love his restaurants. And I just love the size of Toronto, I love the architecture; the ROM is a beautiful museum. I love Casa Loma too — it’s an odd building, one of a kind. I used live on Spadina Road and I loved that area for its Hungarian and Greek restaurants that serve all this different fare. Toronto is a wonderful place to eat.
Are you still very involved in film or has your focus shifted to theatre?
It’s always been theatre, film and television. I have such a wonderful time doing theatre, and I’m excited to be working with Paul Gross, who is so talented. It’s a trill to do a play that I know quite well and to do it again with a new leading man, in a new city — one of my favourite cities.
Had you worked with Paul Gross before?
No, I’d never met him. I admired his work. I knew he was Canadian. You know, there’s this whole contingency — people in showbiz, if you’re from Canada and you find out someone else is Canadian — they’re not just an actor, they’re Canadian. So I’m very much looking forward to starring with him.
I know you also wrote a few books. Any plans for another one in the works?
No, I don’t actually. I enjoyed the experience I had in the literary world, but I much prefer being an actor.
Private Lives, Royal Alexandra Theatre, Sept. 16 – Oct. 30