‘Sex and the City’: Who Was the Character of Smith Jerrod Based On?

Smith Jerrod was one of only two men who were able to win Samantha Jones’ heart. The other, Richard Wright, is among the most hated Sex and the City side characters, according to fans. Over the years, the writing team revealed that almost every love interest was based on a real person, so who was the inspiration for Smith Jerrod? While no one attached to the show has ever explicitly said it, there are a couple of theories. 

Who was the character of Smith Jerrod inspired by? 

While Smith was a beloved Sex and the City character, he hasn’t been spoken about a ton since the series wrapped. In fact, no one attached to the series has ever revealed how the writers developed his storyline. Still, his look is pretty recognizable. 

Jason Lewis, the actor who portrayed Smith Jerrod, looked remarkable, like Travis Fimmel in his early acting year. Fimmel rose to prominence as a model for Calvin Klein before turning his sights on acting. In 2003, Fimmel landed a role in Tarzan. Lewis became Smith the same year. 

While Fimmel seems like he could be the true inspiration for Smith, fans of the series have also suggested several theater actors might have inspired the character. Smith eventually made it big thanks to Samantha, but before his big break, his story played out like thousands of aspiring actors who landed in New York City in their 20s and worked as waiters. Smith could really be anyone.

Who was the real-life inspiration for Richard Wright?

Richard Wright was Samantha’s first, big, on-screen love. She dated the hotel mogul more than once. Their first, brief relationship ended in Richard cheating on Samantha. In their second attempt at a relationship, Samantha realized her paranoia made it impossible for things to work.

Sex and the City writers have never revealed who inspired the character of Richard, although there was plenty of his type running around New York City in the 1990s. Richard was also a lot like Samantha’s fictional first love. Samantha briefly hooked up with an old flame, Dominic, who Carrie suggested was the only man to break Samantha’s heart (until that point). Dominic, like Richard, was high-powered and incredibly rich. Richard was in the hotel business, while Dominic was a publisher. Still, you can’t deny the similarities. 

Aidan Shaw was the only major love interest who writers entirely made up

The scenarios presented to viewers on Sex and the City felt real and raw because they were. According to Sex and the City and Us, a book about the famed show, every character and scenario depicted in the series was somehow connected to real life. Well, almost every one.The show’s writers often brought their dating woes to the table when penning scripts.  

Carrie Bradshaw’s biggest love, Mr. Big, was inspired by Ron Galotti, a publisher with whom Candace Bushnell had an intense love affair. The duo didn’t end up together like Carrie and her big love. though. While Mr. Big was real, her other major love interest was not. Bushnell revealed that Aidan Shaw was completely fictional.