LiveWorld Transcripts

HBO presents

Cynthia Nixon, actress
"Sex and the City"

July 24, 2000

Cynthia Nixon, who plays the character of Miranda in the television series "Sex and the City", discusses in an online interview, her life and career as an actress.

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HBO: Welcome to HBO's live chat with "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon who plays Miranda. Here's your chance to get the inside story! Welcome Cynthia Nixon!

Cynthia: Hello everybody! I'm here! I'm talking to you from a car on the way home from shooting.

Fernando: How has Miranda changed between season one and now?

Cynthia: I think in the pilot and the first season we saw much more of the bitter caustic side of Miranda. Last year in the second season we started to see a lot more of her vulnerability. I think in the first season she was constantly attacking people men and women, because she was so sure she was right all the time. Lately she has been having more of a crisis of confidence.

May Iii: What do you like better, theatre or television?

Cynthia: I guess one of the things I like about theater is that you get to be with the same group of people for a couple of months, or even a year. The television I have done previous to "Sex and the City" was a lot quicker than that. But now that we have been filming for four years, it has the feeling of a group of actors and a crew who know each other the way a theater troupe does, and I love that!

Mspaintedeyes: Do you find it necessary to prepare in advance for steamy roles?

Cynthia: I don't find it necessary to prepare more for steamy roles than for any other roles. I think once you've been doing a character for as long as I've been doing Miranda, you have a pretty good knowledge to fall back on. You mostly have to learn your lines and show up and try to be in the moment.

Ukulelegrrl: HI Cynthia- your character is great, I'm 18 and from Louisiana, the show is my new obsession but of course, at times, my parents frown, - What is your fav TV show/movie/play?

Cynthia: I'm glad you like the show. Sorry your parents don't like you watching it. I think it's perfectly ok being 18 and watching it. My parents wouldn't have minded and that worked out well for me. I have to admit that I don't have a television, so I've not seen a lot of the current shows that are on. Most of my favorite ones are the old ones like "All in the Family," "MASH," and "Mary Tyler Moore." How does one begin to choose a favorite movie? Gosh! My favorite play? I don't know. I see a lot of theater, and I'm hoping to see "The Music Man." I'm excited about that, and I like the CD. It's not my fav, but I like the movie of that, too.

Sunshine-2: What was the audition like for "Sex and the City?" Did you get the job on the spot?

Cynthia: I auditioned a number of times for the show, four or five times. I waited months to hear whether I was cast. I was hopeful and had given up. It was a job I wanted badly because I loved the script and the fact that it shoots in New York. Not many shows do shoot in New York. For me to be able to do a show where I live and not go to California is a real opportunity for me.

BrightAngel: What do you think is your best role to date and why?

Cynthia: I did Nora in "A Doll's House" about four years ago. It's by Ibsen, who's a playwright that I love. It's a very complicated role that calls on you to display so many emotions, very conflicting emotions. I felt like it was a mountain that I got to scale every night; not in an arduous way but in an exhilarating way. It took everything I had, but I did pretty well with it.

Danielle: I love your hair! Do redheads have more fun?

Cynthia: I am actually a blonde in real life, but since I started dying my hair for the show, I have enjoyed it a lot. I have more fun as a redhead, so perhaps redheads do have more fun!

Milton4: How do you always stay so beautiful?

Cynthia: Well we have make-up artists and hair stylists who constantly take care of us, not to mention Pat and Rebecca Fields who give us the most beautiful clothes to wear. When you have so many people working to make you look good, it's much easier.

LrnGemini: How do you stay in shape?

Cynthia: I take a Pilates class. Pilates is a kind of mixture of yoga and weight training. It has stretches and poses, but you use springs that are very hard to move. I am rather a novice at it, but Sarah Jessica Parker is kind of an aficionado. I do that. Occasionally I go to the gym, but not very often. That's pretty much it. I do the low-carb approach to eating also, and that helps keep me thin.

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