Kim Cattrall: Gaining 20 Pounds In 6 Weeks Was 'Wonderful'

NEW YORK — After 12 years playing sultry screen vixen Samantha Jones on "Sex and the City," Kim Cattrall says she's "letting it all hang out" in her new role as a has-been porn star.

Cattrall gained 20 pounds for the title role in the indie film "Meet Monica Velour," about a washed up, aging porn star living in a rural Indiana trailer park.

"It was actually kind of a relief," the 54-year-old actress said Tuesday in an interview. "It was like getting rid of the Barbie doll and throwing it out and starting again."

She said packing on the pounds for "Monica Velour," which comes out April 8, was her fist break from dieting in 25 years and was "wonderful."

"We were shooting in Detroit, and there's a lot of great bars in Detroit," Cattrall said. "So I ate and I drank for about six weeks."

Not so wonderful, she admits, was getting back into her strict regimen so she could shoot her next project, Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer," which was released last year.

Cattrall hit the treadmill and cut out breads, dairy, sweets and most meats to prepare for her role as an assistant to a former British prime minister, played by Pierce Brosnan.

Cattrall said she hopes the stripped-down role in "Monica Velour" will remind people that before Samantha there was Kim, the actress with more than 35 years of varied film, television and theater credits.

"I loved working on 'Sex and the City.' It's a dream job and a great character to play," she said. "But before 'Sex and the City' I was a working actress, and hopefully I'll be until I can't talk or move."

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Online:

http://www.meetmonicavelour.com

Comments

[Davey Johnson]

05:53 PM on 05/10/2011

So beautiful, but so terribly type-cast.

[jmacncheese]

11:04 AM on 04/01/2011

Thanks Kim for saying something positive about Detroit.

[From Michigan]

02:38 PM on 04/01/2011

Detroit and Michigan love you back, Kim!

[HelenaHirschel]

10:28 AM on 04/01/2011

Ha ha I'll be it WAS great to gain 20 pounds in 6 weeks! So cool when actors do that.

[Sugarjo62]

12:01 PM on 03/31/2011

Here is a bio on Kim: Kim Cattrall has an acting career that spans film, stage and television. She recently starred in Private Lives (West End's Vaudeville Theatre) opposite Matthew Macfadyen; her chemistry with co-star Matthew inspired them to join forces again for Any Human Heart.

Earlier in 2010, Kim starred in the film Meet Monica Velour which premiered at the Tribeca film Festival. Kim was also seen in Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer as Amelia Bly, starring opposite Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor. The film won the Silver Bear at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival. For Sex and the City, Kim was recognised for her work in the series with a Golden Globe; two Screen Actors Guild 'Awards; five Emmy Award nominations and three Screen Actors' Guild nominations.

An acclaimed writer, Kim has also written several books, including Sexual Intelligence which was a National Best Seller, Being a Girl: Navigating the Ups and Downs of Teenage Life; and Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm, a New York Times bestseller.

In addition to her stage, screen and writing credits, Kim is the founder of Fertile Ground Productions, a Canadian-based production company. Their first project was Sexual Intelligence, a feature-length HBO documentary based on her book of the same name, for which she was nominated for a Gemini as Best Host or Interviewer in a General/Human Interest or Talk Program or Series. Kim Cattrall was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2009.

[sensimilla]

11:51 AM on 03/31/2011

kim is the only one i liked out of the 4 in SATC. The other 3 were neurotic, manipulative and frigid.

[CVale]

02:12 PM on 03/31/2011

My favorite was Maranda Hobbs. She struggled to be independent and self-sufficient and not a stereotypical woman who needs a man to complete her. She ended up with the best life, I believe, and the best of both worlds. She didn't need Steve, but with him she grew beyond her own expectations.

There's more to this series than your observation would imply. Neurotic? Who isn't. Manipulative? I don't see it. Frigid? Did you watch the show?

[Dan Dolan]

02:09 PM on 04/01/2011

I agree with you.

[mistlesuede]

11:10 AM on 03/31/2011

Leave Kim alone, dweebs.

[zeebaneighba]

11:03 AM on 03/31/2011

So does she get nekkid in this one? That was her job on SITC, after all. Actually, I bet she'd look pretty good with another 20 lbs. on her - too many scrawny actresses these days.

[sensimilla]

11:51 AM on 03/31/2011

agreed and faved!

[BettyEverdene]

10:25 AM on 03/31/2011

I'm sure all of you look half as good as she does. And, I'm sure you're all incredibly successful. Thanks, Kim for your remarkable work. Saw you early on in "Family", and just a few weeks ago in "Any Human Heart", not to mention years of amazing work between. You always steal the show.

[sensimilla]

11:52 AM on 03/31/2011

no, she is a beautiful older woman. crawl back under your rock you toad! ;)

[Deborah Beck]

09:46 AM on 03/31/2011

So I see that members of the exclusive "Forever Young" crowd are posting their usual ageist remarks. What else is there to say, except your day will happen and I do hope that you will recall your own cruelty to others.

[Old Sarge]

09:45 AM on 03/31/2011

I hate Sex in the City, but I do love her!

[sensimilla]

11:52 AM on 03/31/2011

agreed!

[Dantana]

09:40 AM on 03/31/2011

She was fabulous as Samantha on SITC. Don't care what all the church ladies say. They are just jealous. I think she's a Brit, no?

[pray4words]

09:00 AM on 03/31/2011

all I can say is I cannot wait to see the movie...its fun being a bit bigger

[Toast Ed]

04:56 AM on 03/31/2011

She will always be "Lassie" to me.

Why do they call u lassie??,, so funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ta3bVW_N-U

[Old Sarge]

09:45 AM on 03/31/2011

Wow... I had completely forgoten about that.