Today Kim Cattrall, best known as Samantha Jones on Sex and the City, came to UBC to have a little “Sex in the Freddy” (the Freddy Wood Theatre that is). The interesting thing about this free event was that Kim contacted us and asked to speak to the theatre/film students and alumni of UBC. Reason being, as a BC-grown girl, there was no theatre/film program at UBC when she was starting out, and so felt compelled to come back home and provide a little inspiration.
After manning the door (and escorting Kim’s wonderful family and boyfriend), I was actually able to sit through the program to hear her talk of the post-feminist movement, her career, and, yes, sex. Let it be known – I have never watched an entire episode of Sex and the City nor read her books, but was convinced to sit through the movie for my friend Vivian’s sake. [Vivian helped me out on the night of the Run For One Planet fundraiser and I said I would "do anything to repay her." She chose Sex and the City.] Needless to say, I felt out of place amongst the incredible fans that had fought for one of the 400 tickets that went in a matter of hours.
My favourite question that was asked by an audience member though was this:
How do you choose which roles to play? (fyi – she turned down the role of Samantha three times before finally taking it)
Her response:
“I do what scares me.” If it felt uncomfortable, if she didn’t know if she would do well, or if she was just down right scared of the character – that’s when she knew she had to do it. “If I wasn’t scared, I knew I had already done it.”
Obviously this resonated well with me as she spoke about fear as a motivator, as something that will push you forward. At the same time though, fear is what hinders change and holds people (and programs) back from achieving greatness. You can try and convince yourself that your “safe” way of doing something is the “logical” thing to do, but you and I both know that you’re just covering up your fear with a safety blanket you’ve coined as “logic.” Life’s an adventure – don’t deny it of it’s ups and downs!
6 seasons and a movie later, Ms. Cattrall can attest to the fact that you only get scared when you are at your limit and your limit is the only place you find success.
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