One of the stars of Sex and the City, Sarah Jessica Parker, nearly backed out of appearing on the HBO show just as it was about to air. It's hard to imagine any one of the main characters in Sex and the City played by a different actress. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon are as inextricable from their characters as the series is from television history. These actresses exploded in popularity thanks to Darren Star's series, so it's hard to imagine why any of them would ever have second thoughts.