In a recent interview with The Times of London, Cattrall said she turned down the role of Samantha in “Sex and the City” four times before deciding to join the show. Her hesitance stemmed from a bout of insecurity that Cattrall labeled “self-inflicted ageism.”

It might seem impossible to imagine anyone other than Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones, but the now iconic character initially took her some convincing.

Samantha was arguably the on-screen epitome of sex-positivity before the term even existed as a colloquialism. And while Cattrall is proud of the character, she can’t totally relate to her: “I’m the antithesis of her in many ways,” she said. “I’m a serial monogamist, and then some.”