Sarah Jessica Parker Once Shared How She Sobbed When She Was Told She Had to Do a Nude Scene
Not every actor feels comfortable bearing it all in front of a movie screen. This was the case for Sarah Jessica Parker, who made sure she would never have to disrobe while on screen. She’d learned her lesson from her earlier days, when a filmmaker tried to convince Parker to do a nude scene.
Why Sarah Jessica Parker has always had a no-nudity clause
As some fans know, Sarah Jessica Parker has always had a no-nudity clause written in her contract. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Parker asserted that her clause was no different than the requests of other stars.
“I’ve always had one, and it’s apropos of absolutely nothing,” Parker said. “Some people have a perks list and they are legendary. They have to have white candles in their room. I don’t have a crazy list like that. I’ve just always had [a no-nudity clause].”
At the same time, Parker added that she’s not against other actors going nude in films. It’s simply something that’s not Parker’s preference.
“I don’t have any judgment about anyone who chooses to do it,” she continued. “I think it’s fantastic that people feel comfortable doing it. It’s not some kind of principled position or religious or ideological on my part.”
Sarah Jessica Parker cried when she learned she’d have to film nude for a movie
Parker’s stance against being nude seems to have been a constant in her career. In her earlier days, the actor took a stand when an unnamed filmmaker tried to convince the Hocus Pocus actor to disrobe.
“I don’t know if I had the confidence or if I was being counseled by people. There was so much pressure for me to take my clothes off,” Parker once told People.
Fortunately, with a bit of help, Parker didn’t have to compromise her beliefs.
“My agent [CAA’s Kevin Huvane] sent a car and a plane ticket [to the film set] and he said, ‘If anybody makes you do anything that you’re not comfortable doing, you don’t,’” she recalled. “Given what’s happening now and the stories told from that particular period, I know how lucky I am that there was someone — in this case, a man — who stepped in.”
Sarah Jessica Parker almost didn’t do ‘Sex and the City’ because of the potential nudity
Sarah Jessica Parker once shared to The Hollywood Reporter that she was wary about signing on to do Sex and the City. Because of certain reservations Parker had with the show, starring in it took some convincing from her agent, Kevin Huvane.
“He called me up and said, ‘Darren Star reached out to me. He’s written this pilot [Sex and the City] and tells me he wrote it with you in mind — you were in his head when he was writing it. I’m going to send it to you. I’ve read it. I think it’s really good. You should meet with him,’” she remembered.
But Parker felt she was fine where she was at the time. Without being tied to contracts, Parker wasn’t sure she wanted to give up the flexibility she enjoyed.
“Do I really want to go back to making a television series when I’m maybe held hostage signing a long-term contract?” Parker asked herself.
Still, Parker spoke with Darren, whose pitch raised even more concerns for the future Sex and the City star.
“I met with Darren, and there were a couple of concerns that I had — like I really wasn’t keen on doing nudity and language issues,” Parker remembered.
Her agent, however, wouldn’t let the opportunity go.
“But Kevin continued to say to me, ‘This is different. You have never done anything like this before. No one’s ever done a part like this. Do this,’” she said.
Six Sex and the City seasons later followed by a recent HBO Max reboot, it seems that Kevin Huvane might have been right all along.
