Everyone’s talking about Chris Noth‘s dramatic and devastating demise as Mr. Big in the premiere episode of And Just Like That…, and apparently, that devastation was felt with the actors as well. Speaking with Access Hollywood, the 67-year-old revealed how he almost said no the Sex and the City reboot due to his fateful end.
“I originally called him [the director and co-creator of Sex And The City Michael Patrick King] and said ‘Michael, I’m not doing this. I don’t want to die.’ Because in the original [first] movie [draft] that happened, which they didn’t end up doing. And I said ‘I’m just not interested,’ he shared with the outlet. “At first I thought, ‘Well maybe they try and adopt a baby?’ But no…it’s not Sex And The City, it’s And Just Like That…, and in this story, Big’s got to go.”
Chris continued with at least a glimmer of hope about his character’s memory on the show, saying, “Nobody ever really dies because you’re always in the minds of people so there may be a little more Big to come.”
In case you missed it, in the first episode of the reboot, Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw comes home from Lily’s piano recital to find the love of her life, John James “Mr. Big” Preston, dying on their bathroom floor from an apparent heart attack. Although the two had a plan to go to the Hamptons that evening, Carrie chose last minute to support her friend Charlotte’s daughter for her recital, and Big, with his night now free, took to his Peloton bike for a sweaty workout. After his virtual ride with Peloton instructor Allegra, he collapses and suffers a heart attack.
The death scene caused a bit of a backlash for the fitness company, as they saw a decrease in sales and stocks take a tumble the day after the premiere. In response, Peloton issued a statement through Cardiologist Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, noting the positive effects of cycling and saying the exercise would have helped delay a heart attack. They even went so far as to condemn Mr. Big’s lifestyle as being a part of his cardiovascular issues and also made a quick ad response narrated by Ryan Reynolds with Big and his instructor Allegra cheers-ing to “new beginnings.”