Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon share when they learned of Willie Garson's illness
And Just Like That... began filming in New York City in July, which allowed Willie Garson to reprise his beloved Stanford Blatch character before he passed away Sept. 21 from pancreatic cancer at 57 years old.
While visiting The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon revealed that Garson will appear in the first three episodes of HBO Max's limited series revival of Sex and the City, which premieres Thursday (Dec. 9).
The longtime co-stars then got emotional while remembering Garson (4-minute mark):
"Willie was just a person who just lightened any situation that he was in and just would have you in stitches within a minute of coming into a conversation," Nixon said. "He was a person with incredible stories."
"Full of joy and so incredibly brilliant and smart," Davis added, while holding Nixon's hand. "Really, even being sick, which we didn't know about in the beginning, he still brought so much joy."
Nixon interjected: "It's fair to say that we shot [And Just Like That...] with him for a long time not knowing he was sick, and then things got bad enough that we were informed. I think we're also very grateful that we had a few days with him knowing that he was sick, and we could talk to him about it, and he could talk to us about it. That, I think, was a really important thing for all of us."
Davis burst into tears while noting, "But it's hard. I wish he was here."
Davis, Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker were among the many who posted tributes to Garson in the immediate aftermath of his death:
Chris Noth, known for his portrayal of Mr. Big, recently spoke about Garson with The Guardian.
"No, most of us didn’t know," Noth said when asked if he knew Garson was battling cancer. "The last time I saw him was on set and I kick myself because I didn’t really get a chance to talk to him. He was extraordinarily fun and funny and there’s nothing to say but that it’s heartbreaking. It’s sad for everyone, and for the show, because I think he was going to have a really huge storyline. But he’ll be in it to the extent that he filmed. Oh God..."
Garson played Stanford, Carrie Bradshaw's (SJP) best male friend, throughout Sex and the City's original six-season run on HBO from 1998 to 2004.
More must-reads: