Sex and the City alum slept on floors in Paris for months
"Sex and the City" alum Jason Lewis said he slept on floors in Paris and survived on stolen baguettes and mustard during a six-month "starvation period" when he could buy only one cucumber and a piece of cheese, nearly a decade before booking the series.
Key Takeaways
- Jason Lewis said he struggled financially after moving to Europe to model at 21.
- He told Kristin Davis he slept on floors and went through a six-month "starvation period."
- Lewis said he could buy one cucumber and a piece of cheese, and sometimes stole baguettes for mustard sandwiches.
- He debuted as Smith Jerrod on "Sex and the City" in 2003 at age 32, nearly a decade later.
The actor, best known as Samantha Jones' love interest Smith Jerrod, opened up about the lean years on Davis' podcast "Are You a Charlotte?" His comments resurfaced in celebrity breaking news coverage after Page Six reported the reflection.
What did Jason Lewis say about his time in Paris?
Lewis, now 55, said he relocated to Europe as a 21-year-old model and quickly ran short on money and housing. "I starved for a while," he told Davis, 61.
He described scouting bakeries and taking a baguette, then visiting outdoor cafes to dump mustard on the bread. "Then I'd have mustard bread sandwiches for a lot of my meals," Lewis said.
"So slept on floors," the "Mr. Brooks" star added, tying the hunger stretch to nights without a proper place to stay.
How long did the struggle last before money came in?
Lewis framed the hardest stretch as about six months. "I think my first like decent money started coming in about a year and a half later," he said. "So there was like a six-month starvation period where I could buy this one cucumber and this piece of cheese."
"It was easy to stay skinny, though," he quipped, underscoring how thin the budget — and the meals — really were.
According to Page Six, his luck shifted once he booked a modeling gig that finally brought steadier pay.
When did he join Sex and the City — and what happened next?
Lewis first appeared as Samantha's younger model boyfriend, Smith, in 2003 during the show's sixth and final season. He was 32, nearly a decade after those Paris nights on the floor.
On screen, publicist Samantha helped Smith's career take off as their romance turned serious. They stayed together through her cancer storyline and were still a couple when the series ended in 2004.
He returned for the 2008 "Sex and the City" film and the 2010 sequel, by then as friends after a split. He was not asked back for the HBO reboot "And Just Like That," which was canceled after three seasons.
Lewis competed on "Dancing With the Stars" in 2022, then went quiet before resurfacing in May to say he had moved to Costa Rica and written a nine-book fantasy series still unrevealed. "After three years, it was time," he wrote.