Sarah Jessica Parker may be the perfect person to receive the Carol Burnett Award at the Golden Globes, despite feeling “undeserving” of the honor.
“My mom and dad met at a local production of Once Upon a Mattress in Athens, Ohio. My dad walked into the audition theater and she was on stage, and he told us he thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen,” Parker says. “And we grew up hearing that.”
Burnett made her Broadway debut in the role of Princess Winifred in Once Upon a Mattress, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award.
But the connection doesn’t end there. When the Broadway show was revived in 1996, Parker accepted Burnett’s role as Princess Winifred. Then a legendary comedian came on the show.
“She was so sweet and kind,” Parker recalled. “She has played an important role in my life, so it is truly an honor to try to do the right thing by expressing this gratitude.”
Parker, best known for her role as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City and And Just Like That…, says she feels “privileged” for every role she’s ever played, especially ones that stretch different muscles.
“‘Square Pegs’ was a really special experience and obviously a strikingly different character from Carrie Bradshaw,” she says of the 1982 CBS sitcom she co-directed with Amy Rinker. “I’ve been in so many movies and I feel like they’re a part of me, and in many ways I’m trying to be better and keep up with the people around me who I thought were great artists and craftsmen. Working with Steve Martin taught me a lot about physical comedy, and doing some movies with Bette Midler taught me to be passionate about things that are absurd and broad and amazingly ridiculous.”
Like many honorees, Parker credits much of his success to those around him, absorbing everything others have to offer and always giving 100%.
“It’s great, you always want to be proactive and get better,” she says. “It’s about caring that after all these years, as messy and sometimes frustrating as it is, I’m still deeply affected by not feeling good enough. For me, that was probably the best way to function professionally.”
HBO
At this point in her career, she is focused on new challenges.
“Not feeling like I’ve already said these lines, been that person, been in that town, walked in those shoes. It’s easiest to do what’s most familiar, and that’s often the most lucrative. But more and more, that’s not the most satisfying thing, and it’s not being asked of me enough,” she says. “At this point in my life and career, I think it’s incumbent on me to always try to be afraid and always feel like there’s a very good chance that I can’t do it, that there’s a very good chance that I’ll get fired.”
She admits it’s not fun to feel that kind of anxiety, but she’s not thrilled about playing the same role over and over again. “You say you’ve played someone for a long time, but she was always having new experiences,” Parker says of Carrie, who she played in two HBO series and two feature films. “There were always a lot of unexpected things and surprises, but it was more like the life of a human being with a proper heartbeat.”
