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Sarah Jessica Parker Once Worried Carrie Bradshaw Felt Too Much Like Ferris Bueller
Jun
The Sex and the City star wasn’t a fan of breaking the fourth wall in early episodes — and her reason may surprise you.
As And Just Like That continues to stir conversation, fans are revisiting the early seasons of Sex and the City, uncovering long-forgotten quirks — like Carrie Bradshaw’s habit of breaking the fourth wall. But according to Kristin Davis, the show’s star Sarah Jessica Parker had reservations about that storytelling device from the very beginning.
🎥 Carrie Bradshaw vs. Ferris Bueller?
During a recent episode of Davis’ hit rewatch podcast, Are You a Charlotte?, guest John Benjamin Hickey (who played Thomas John Andersen on the original series) brought up the show’s early stylistic choices. Davis shared that both Parker and series director Michael Patrick King weren’t fans of Carrie speaking directly to the camera.
“Sarah Jessica’s very open mission was to get rid of talking to the camera,” Davis recalled. “She said, ‘Do I have to talk to the camera? It’s so strange to break the fourth wall.’”
Parker, Davis said, was particularly concerned about one very famous cinematic comparison — her own husband, Matthew Broderick, as Ferris Bueller.
“She was worried about Ferris Bueller,” Davis revealed, laughing. “Which I had never thought of!”
Of course, Broderick famously charmed audiences by addressing them directly in the 1986 classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The comparison made Parker nervous that her character’s similar style would seem derivative or invite unfair scrutiny.
🎭 A Unique Insight into Parker’s Process
Davis went on to praise Parker’s professionalism and clarity about her acting preferences:
“I had never seen an actress be able to speak so clearly about what they wanted to do and what they didn’t want to do without being angry or histrionic,” she said. “She just very clearly articulated why it was hard for her… and I was like, ‘Yes. I agree with her.’”
Hickey, for his part, couldn’t help but be impressed by the comparison. “Wow,” he responded. “Nobody ever did it better,” referring to Broderick’s Ferris.
💬 Full Circle: From Sex and the City to Broadway
In a full-circle moment, Hickey recently directed Parker and Broderick in a Broadway revival of Plaza Suite by Neil Simon. The pair — married since 1997 — have frequently worked together on stage and screen, bringing their off-screen chemistry into their professional projects.
