Kristin Davis Requested More Money to Play Charlotte York

Kristin Davis wears a white suit jacket as she stands with Sarah Jessica Parker on a New York street filming And Just Like That, and Kristin Davis wears a black dress while playing Charlotte York in Sex and the City — (Image credit: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images)

Kristin Davis recently launched her podcast, “Are You a Charlotte?” and she's already sharing secrets from the early days of Sex and the City. Davis portrayed Charlotte York on the original HBO series, in two movies, and in the recent spin-off, And Just Like That. But according to Davis, the Sex and the City pilot wasn't all smooth sailing.

"Are You a Charlotte?" launched on January 13, and Davis shared in the first episode (via Us Weekly), "I was never a fan of the pilot...didn't seem polished" She continued, "It didn't seem smooth. It seemed kind of choppy and hectic." Luckily, the chaotic nature of the pilot episode wasn't indicative of how the rest of the season would turn out. "But I also feel my personal theory on pilots in general is that if they're too good—if the pilot is too formed—the show might not be good."

However, while working on the pilot, Davis got a shock when a producer gave her a new contract, which featured a low offer. The producer apparently requested that the actress signed the contract right away, but the Holiday in the Wild star was cautious. Davis continued, "I take the paperwork and I look at it and it seems to be a new contract, but it's only two pages long, and I'm like, 'What is this?' And it says, 'You will be a recurring character and you will be paid $5,000.'"

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Kristin Davis wears an ombre pink and red dress while playing Charlotte York on Sex and the City — "And it says, 'You will be a recurring character and you will be paid $5,000.'"

Davis was suspicious about the so-called "new contract," so she immediately called her lawyer who told her not to sign anything. "I know that the pilot's costing a lot and that they're stressed at HBO about it," Davis explained. "I think the pilot cost like $2.5 million roughly, which at the time was a lot because no one really filmed in Manhattan."

As the show's creator, Darren Star, hadn't informed Davis about a new contract, she decided it was best to ignore it. "So I thought, 'Well, if Darren's not saying anything to me about it, then everything must be okay,'" Davis noted on her podcast. "I don't know. I was scared. But it was also very clear from the book and from the script and from the pilot that Charlotte's point of view was a different point of view than the other girls."

Sex and the City fans are sure to agree that the franchise wouldn't be the same without Davis's portrayal of Charlotte York, and she's most definitely worth the money.

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Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.