“I thought they were playing the long game, turns out: no,” the actor joked.

Timothy Olyphant thought he’d be invited back for another *Sex and the City *episode: ‘They never paid it off’

"I thought they were playing the long game, turns out: no," the actor joked.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at*  *with over five years of experience covering the latest in entertainment. A proud Kingston University alum, Emlyn has written about music, fandom, film, television, and awards for multiple outlets including MTV News, *Teen Vogue*, Bustle, BuzzFeed, *Paper Magazine*, Dazed, and NME. She joined EW in August 2022.

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Published on August 13, 2025 02:34PM EDT

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Timothy Olyphant in 'Sex and the City,' season 1, episode 4, 'Valley of the Twenty-Something Guys'. Credit:

And as he looked back on his prolific acting career, Timothy Olyphant couldn't help but wonder: why didn't I have more time on *Sex and the City? *

During a recent visit to *Jimmy Kimmel Live*, the *Alien: Earth *star was praised by guest host Nicole Byer for his short-lived appearance as Sam in the hit HBO series’ first season. **

“Oh, thank you. I enjoyed doing it,” Olyphant replied. “I was living in New York. I walked to work. The show hadn’t been on the air yet. I have fond memories of that, what, like a week of my life? But it was fun.”

Timothy Olyphant on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'.

In fact, the actor would’ve liked to have had a larger part in it. “Here’s the deal, that show’s done,” he pointed out about the series, which came to a close after six seasons in 2004. “Can I tell you something? I always thought, ‘They’ll bring me back, won’t they?’”

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He continued, “It felt like people were like, ‘Whatever happened to that dude?’ And they never paid it off. I thought they were playing the long game, turns out: no.”

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Olyphant starred in only one episode of *Sex and the City* as Sam, a twenty-something dude who Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) has a brief fling with amid her never-ending "will-they-won’t-they" drama with Mr. Big (Chris Noth). **

However, Carrie quickly calls things off between them after waking up one morning in Sam’s apartment only to discover that it's covered in trash, has no toilet paper, and is shared between him and his naked roommate.

Olyphant's admission comes less than two weeks after it was revealed that *Sex and the City *spinoff* And Just Like That *will officially be coming to a close at the end of its current third season, meaning there's even *less* of a chance that we'll ever see Sam again. The series finale is slated to air tomorrow (Aug. 14) on HBO Max.**

"And just like that... the ongoing storytelling of the *Sex And The City* universe is coming to an end," Michael Patrick King, creator and showrunner of *And Just Like That*, said in an Instagram statement. "While I was writing the last episode of *And Just Like That*... season 3, it became clear to me that this might be a wonderful place to stop."

King went on to explain that he and Parker "held off announcing the news until now because we didn't want the word 'final' to overshadow the fun of watching the season." He added, "It's with great gratitude we thank all the viewers who have let these characters into their homes and their hearts over these many years."

Watch Olyphant discuss his *Sex & the City* dreams — and starring in a Levi's ad with Beyoncé — in the clip above.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL TV”