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SEXUAL HEALING (p. 3 of 3)

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For those who appreciated the show’s liberated attitude, it may come as a shock to hear that Samantha contracts breast cancer. True, as the characters have aged, a whiff of mortality and sadness has entered the frame. But with this latest turn, Samantha seems to be suffering a sort of divine retribution that belongs to those classic films in which a strong woman gets her just desserts for daring to desire, like Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice or Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8.

Cattrall points out that Sex and the City can handle the issue in a way that is powerful, occasionally comical and utterly real, and you realize it’s going to be okay. She says playing Samantha is like walking a tightrope; she’s always wondering if she’s going to get to the other side of a scene. "It hasn’t gotten any easier because it’s always pushing the envelope," she says.

But now, there’s more than just sex at stake. "The other day, we were doing a scene where this doctor’s groping my breast and finds a lump. I’ve been there," she whispers. About eight years ago, a doctor examining Cattrall thought he’d found something. Terrified as she was, she refused a biopsy and insisted on a second opinion from two other doctors, both of which came back negative. So she understands these scenes are fraught with significance. "It’s more of a responsibility than just being free and open about sexuality," she nods.

At the time of our interview, not even Cattrall knew what was ultimately in store for Samantha. Whatever happens onscreen, Samantha has notched a permanent place in our collective imagination. And though Cattrall sometimes tires of being mistaken for her character, she’s willing to push the connection now in order to leverage the public perception of their twinned personalities.

There are a couple of projects in development at her new Toronto-based company Fertile Ground Productions: an adaptation of the 1950 Clifford Odets play The Country Girl, which was first filmed starring Grace Kelly; and, fittingly, a documentary she’ll produce and host for HBO and CTV called Sexual Intelligence. It is "a very irreverent look back and forward – where we’re going and where we are."

Where is Kim Cattrall going? Who knows? Ten years ago, she had no idea she’d be where she is today. "This is the most exciting time of my life," she says. "I did not expect that because I thought, nearing the end of my 40s, that I would be a journeyman actress. I don’t think I ever even imagined that I would be a producer or write a book." She’s learning that life is about playing the hand you’re dealt. So tomorrow, when the rain stops, Kim Cattrall will pull out of her Hamptons retreat and return to the city that, for a time, gave her the world. [ ]

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