As the longtime husband of Sarah Jessica Parker, actor Matthew Broderick would’ve seemingly had a leg up in landing a role on Sex And The City alongside his wife ― but it never happened.
Appearing on Thursday’s episode of the SiriusXM show This Life Of Mine, Matthew confirmed that he was asked to appear on the era-defining HBO series, which ran for six seasons and spawned two big-screen films as well as a successful, if divisive, revival show. However, he never actively pursued the opportunity.
“Whenever there was a part that I could do, I couldn’t do it,” he said. “But also sometimes, it was like, ‘Do you want to do two days as the premature ejaculator?’ And I’d be, you know: ‘Well, I don’t know. You know, it’s just kind of embarrassing.’”
Given how closely aligned Sarah Jessica Parker is with the Sex And The City franchise, Matthew said that appearing on the show himself ran the risk of being “stunty”.
Listen to a clip of Matthew Broderick’s This Life Of Mine interview below:
“That was her thing,” he said. “It just never work worked out. I love that show, and I would have been delighted to be in it. But it just never lined up right.”
Matthew, who has recently appeared on Only Murders In The Building as well as in the film No Hard Feelings, previously hinted at turning down the role of Vaughn Wysel, a man grappling with premature ejaculation while dating his wife’s on-screen character, on season two of Sex And The City. Actor Justin Theroux played the part instead.
In a 2020 interview with The New York Times, SJP acknowledged feeling uneasy when her husband would swing by the set as an observer.
“I’d get so nervous,” she said. “Like, Matthew’s here! Don’t look at me!”
Though Matthew never appeared with Sarah Jessica on Sex And The City, they have worked together on Broadway. In 1996, the pair co-starred in a revival of the musical How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. They also shared the New York stage together once again in 2022 when they led the Neil Simon comedy “Plaza Suite,” later reprising their roles for the play’s London production.
In 2006, Matthew appeared alongside one of his wife’s Sex And The City co-stars, Kristin Davis, in the Christmas comedy Deck The Halls.