What Is Mr. Big’s Job in ‘Sex and the City’?

What did Mr. Big or Big (Chris Noth) do for money on Sex and the City? His job on the six-year series seemed very demanding — what with all the late hours he worked — and very lucrative given the chauffeur who drove him around Manhattan. 

Then there’s the fact he nonchalantly said “I got it” when Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) asked if they could afford the gorgeous apartment with a “really big closet” Big surprised Carrie with after searching for places without finding one they both liked in the Sex and the City movie. 

After delivering his comment “like he was picking up a check for coffee,” Carrie and her best friends — Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Charlotte (Kristin Davis), and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) — wondered how Mr. Big could be so casual about spending an exorbitant amount of money on a New York City penthouse. 

What is Mr. Big’s job in ‘Sex and the City’? 

Mr. Big’s job on Sex and the City is mysterious much like the man himself. According to Wikipedia, his job is being an entrepreneur and financier. Aside from that, there isn’t much we know about Mr. Big’s professional life. 

But, as executives on Sex and the City have said in the past, it’s an intentional move on their part to keep his job vague to give the character an air of mystery. 

According to a Sex and the City fan site, Michael Patrick King, an executive producer on the show, once said in DVD commentary,  Mr. Big remained “always slightly out of reach” for Bradshaw throughout the entire series. That’s why his name is never spoken. It’s only seen on her caller ID when he calls her to tell him he’s selling his home in Napa, California, and returning to New York City. 

Chris Noth on Mr. Big: ‘I feel like we told that story’

In 2017, Noth told Us Weekly he doesn’t feel the need to reprise his famous role. 

“I feel like we told that story,” the actor, 62, told the publication.“I don’t think there’s anything left for me to say about that. I want to tell other stories.”

Since his role as Mr. Big ended, Noth has been telling other stories. For instance, he played a Chicago politician in the CBS series, The Good Wife, opposite Julianna Margulies. And recently he starred in the miniseries, Manhunt: Unabomber. 

Even though playing Mr. Big is in the past, there’s still something about his character Noth can’t wrap his head around. 

“The thing that I don’t understand is the idea of Mr. Big because he wasn’t the guy that got away. They were always dance partners. Sometimes they went away for a little while and she had a bunch of other guys and he got married.”

The inspiration for Mr. Big

Mr. Big is said to based on a real person. Although it’s not confirmed, it’s a widely held belief Ron Galotti, Vogue and GQ publisher, is the inspiration behind the character.

Candace Bushnell, the author of Sex and the City, met Galotti at a party in 1995. They began dating and were together for a year. During that time, Bushnell wrote about their relationship in her dating column in the New York Observer. Sound like Bradshaw’s life? 

Watch Sex and the City exclusively on HBO’s streaming platforms.