‘Sex and the City’: Sarah Jessica Parker Reveals When She Learned Mr. Big’s Real Name
One of the main mysteries throughout the HBO TV show Sex and the City is what Mr. Big’s name is. The New York businessman is a mainstay throughout the six-season show and two movies, but when talked about among Carrie’s friend group, he’s simply referred to as “Mr. Big” — at least until one point in the show. However, the character does indeed have a name and Sarah Jessica Parker revealed when she learned Mr. Big’s name.
Read on to find out when Parker learned Mr. Big’s real name.
Sarah Jessica Parker didn’t want to know Mr. Big’s name
In an interview with HBO.com, Parker said she actually wanted to be kept in the dark about what Mr. Big’s name really was, even after six seasons of filming the show.
“I was never going to have the chance to read a script for the first time again,” Parker revealed about the big moment. “I read it as late as I could, and I told [Executive producer] Michael Patrick [King] that I wasn’t going to read the last page because I didn’t want to see his name.”
When did Sarah Jessica Parker learn Mr. Big’s real name?
Parker continued to say that she tried putting off reading the script as long as possible to maintain the air of mystery surrounding Mr. Big’s actual identity. But she finally discovered his real name when reading the script for the HBO show’s series finale episode while driving to set.
“The writers knew it before me because I couldn’t bring myself to read that last page until I was driving to set,” Parker said. “Michael Patrick [King] always gave me the scripts early, but I said I didn’t want to know — I didn’t even want to read the last script.”
Audiences everywhere were clued into Mr. Big’s name — John — from his name popping up on Carrie’s phone in the last episode.
Mr. Big’s name almost remained a mystery on ‘Sex and the City’
Executive producer King spoke with Entertainment Weekly in an interview about the decision to reveal Mr. Big’s name, which almost didn’t happen.
“In the last episode, in the last moment, I realized [I had] to say Mr. Big’s name and I just [mimes typing on a keyboard] ‘John,'” King said about the name reveal. “And then I told all the writers and they were like, ‘What the h*ll?’ And I was like, ‘We have to say his name because now he’s real!'”
King then revealed that having Mr. Big’s name as “John” wasn’t always the plan.
“In my mind? He had no name,” King continued. “It was just one of those things where it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s happening right now’ and you didn’t plan it.”
Even though Mr. Big’s name was revealed in the final moments of Sex and the City the television series, he still continues to be known as “Mr. Big” by fans and in popular culture. We have yet to see if that will change in the reboot series, And Just Like That…
