Blair Underwood Rejected First ‘Sex and the City’ Offer: ‘It Was About How Samantha Was Fascinated by a Black Man’ and ‘Rumors About Our Anatomy’

variety.com:

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Blair Underwood participated in a career retrospective interview with the AV Club and remembered turning down the first offer he got to join HBO’s “Sex and the City.” Underwood would go on to play Dr.

Robert Leeds, a brief romantic love interest for Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), during the show’s sixth and final season. However, that was not the character first offered to Underwood. “I actually did say ‘no’ the first time,” Underwood said. “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.'” According to Underwood, the “Sex and the City” team accepted his rejection and then called back a year later with another offer to star on the comedy series.

The first thing Underwood said to the team was, “Well, is it gonna be about race?” “They said, ‘No, no, no, we’re not even gonna mention race!'” Underwood continued. “And I think it really did only come up maybe once.