While reflecting on his career, Blair Underwood revealed in an interview with the AV Club that he initially turned down a role in HBO’s “Sex and the City” due to concerns about the character’s portrayal.
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Known for his role as Dr. Robert Leeds in the show’s final season, Underwood disclosed that he did turn down another role after it initially revolved around Samantha’s curiosity about the anatomy of Black men: “The first time they had offered the role, to be honest with you, it was about how Samantha was fascinated by dating a Black man and wanted to know if, uh, all of the rumors were true about our anatomy! And I said, “Listen, I’m honored, thank you, but I just don’t want to play a character based on race, on curiosity about a Black man.” However, the “Sex and the City” team respected his decision and approached him with a different offer a year later.
According to Variety, they assured that race would not be a focal point of the character. He accepted the role of Dr. Leeds, a doctor who meets Miranda in their apartment building’s elevator, leading to a short romance. Reflecting on his time on the show, Underwood said Cynthia Nixon and the cast gave him a warm reception upon his casting. He added that Nixon called him personally to welcome him to the show. Dr. Leeds became a memorable character in the series, known for his chemistry with Miranda until their relationship ended because she still had feelings for her future husband, Steve.
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Underwood didn’t specify the exact reason for the initial offer and which season it was for; he discussed his long-time stance against being typecast based on race.
“That’s really been a consistent thing in my career: not wanting to be boxed as ‘the Black guy,’
Fans also reacted to Underwood’s comments. Some said they were glad he accepted the role on his terms and were stunned by how Samantha’s character was written for the unscripted episode. “We were supposed to believe that would’ve been Samantha’s first time with a black guy? This is how you know Kim Cattrall is an amazing actress bc the writers tried to ruin Samantha many times,” one user wrote in a tweet.
Another mentioned another SATC episode, “No Ifs, Ands, or Butts,” where Samantha dated a Black man, but a different actor played the role: “What’s crazy is after he gave valid reasons for turning it down, the show did the storyline anyway, lmao, just with a different actor. Although they must’ve re-tooled it a bit because that wasn’t quite the reason Samantha dates Chivon, though it gets brought up after the fact #SATC“
