'It becomes a tsunami' Kim Cattrall opens up about horrific battle with insomnia
KIM CATTRALL has opened up about her horrific battle with insomnia, admitting it became "a tsunami" in her life.
Kim Cattrall pulled out of Penelope Skinner's play Linda due to her insomnia
The 59-year-old admitted that her struggle with sleeplessness led to her pulling out of a West End production of Penelope Skinner's play Linda, back in 2015.
Kim explained of her condition: "It was a gorilla sitting on my chest. I didn't understand the debilitating consequence of having no sleep. It becomes a tsunami. I was in a void," she added to Radio Times.
The much-loved star spoke out about having to cancel the play, saying she believed the show was crucial to her mental health.
Kim went on: "Letting go of all that was the hardest part but I realised the work that I really needed to do was more important than the play - it was work on my sanity."
Kim compared her condition to a 'gorilla sitting on her chest'
Kim played Samantha Jones in Sex and the City
Kim Cattrall Jameson Dublin Film Festival
Asked if her sanity had been at risk, she continued: "Coming back to the US, I hadn't slept for 48 hours and had to wait six hours to get my 18-year-old cat through customs.
"When the customs officer said, 'So, how much is your cat worth?' I couldn't stop laughing hysterically."
The actress ended up leaving the production at the Royal Court Theatre in London during rehearsals and she was replaced by Noma Dumezweni.
Kim faced criticism for pulling out but said she was not interested in listening to that "noise".
The Liverpool-born actress returned to New York and turned to cognitive behavioural therapy to help her tackle her insomnia.
Actress said she cancelled the play 'to work on her sanity'
Sex and the city ran for six seasons and has also had two follow up films
Kim is arguably best known for playing infamous man-eater Samantha Jones in Sex and the City, but she recently revealed that she actually turned down the role several times because she thought she was too old, aged 41.
Kim revealed that another unnamed actress had already signed on to play the part when she got another call from series creator Darren Starr.
She said: “She was ready to play the part and at the last minute Darren called me again and said, ‘One more lunch! Please, one more lunch’.
"We had lunch, and I said, ‘Okay, the deal breaker is I don’t want Samantha to have kids’. And he said, ‘You’re on’. I never saw that character being a mum.”
Read the rest of Kim's interview in the latest issue of Radio Times, which is on sale now.