Sarah Jessica Parker nearly rejected SATC due to nudity

Sarah Jessica Parker nearly turned down ‘Sex and the City’ because she was concerned about "nudity and language issues".

The 51-year-old actress is now best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw in the HBO series – which aired from 1998 to 2004 – but she almost didn’t portray the newspaper columnist because she was worried about flashing too much flesh and being understood.

In an extract from James Andrew Miller’s new book ‘Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood’s Creative Artists’ obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, she wrote: "He [her agent Kevin Huvane] called me up and said, ‘Darren Star reached out to me.

"’He’s written this pilot [Sex and the City] and tells me he wrote it with you in mind – you were in his head when he was writing it. I’m going to send it to you. I’ve read it. I think it’s really good. You should meet with him.’ "

"And I said, ‘Really? I feel like I’ve got it all right now. I can do a play, then do a movie, then do a play, then do a movie. There’s a lot of flexibility. What could be better? Do I really want to go back to making a television series when I’m maybe held hostage signing a long-term contract?’

"I met with Darren, and there were a couple of concerns that I had — like I really wasn’t keen on doing nudity and language issues — but Kevin continued to say to me, ‘This is different. You have never done anything like this before. No one’s ever done a part like this. Do this.’ "

The star was so close to Kevin she even used to stay at his house when she needed to be in Los Angeles for work.

She added: "I’m Kevin Huvane’s oldest client. I’m not his oldest client, but I am his longest-term client. We’ve been together for 30 years and grew up in the business alongside each other.

"We lived together in New York. When I had to be in L.A. for work, Kevin said to me, ‘Live at my apartment!’ "