With his "Sex And The City" days long behind him, Chris Noth is keeping busy playing Peter Florrick on "The Good Wife" and with his debut as J.P. Morgan in Encore's "Titanic: Blood And Steel" miniseries.
In honor of his involvement with Beaulieu Vineyards' Give & Give Back campaign, Noth spoke with HuffPost via phone to talk about 'The Good Wife," working with Matthew Perry and why he's tired of being "Mr. Big."
Let's talk about "The Good Wife." So Peter's running against Matthew Perry's character, and he's also in "Go On." How are you coordinating that?
I'm kind of the wrong guy to ask. You'd have to ask the producers. I know they're planning on him coming back though. That's all I can tell you.
What do you think Peter's biggest obstacle will be in winning the election?
His past, and the cut-throat nature of politics in general. Because of his past, he's provided plenty of material. As you've noticed in our own elections, [the media] uses certain things to the fullest extent of the law. He's got a few skeletons in his closet. It makes for an interesting episode.
A lot of the characters on the show are constantly questioning Alicia about why she stays with Peter. Why do you think that is?
They're both complicated people who have a shared past, and they've been through a lot together. When you have a shared history with someone, it's not easy to walk away from.
Do you think Peter and Alicia will officially reconcile? It seems like things are headed that way.
You know, I never know what they're going to do. The obstacles there don't go away that easily. I really can't answer that. I never know what's in the writers' heads.
What about the violence depicted between Kalinda [Archie Panjabi] and her husband? Were you surprised by that?
I'm hoping for more! [Laughs.] She's pretty kick-ass, isn't she? It's like all of a sudden it's "24." But you know, variety is the spice of life. It's an interesting kind of S&M relationship, and she does it so well. It's just terrific.
I feel like "The Good Wife" has been staging a sexual revolution on broadcast TV and really pushing the boundaries with everything. Do you think that's an important thing to do?
I think it's the most important thing to do. [Laughs.] I'm kidding. Important? I don't think that's the word. Let's put it this way. CBS isn't used to doing this kind of thing, and I think they're pushing the boundaries. I don't know about anybody else. I think they're sort of examining and exploring how far to go on network, and let's face it: The boundaries are pretty tight. But whereas cable can be literal, I think [CBS] artfully suggests things and do a great job with that.
It's paving the way for other shows to be able to do that.
Yes. But again, the restrictions are many. You have to be able to be smart with that.
Let's talk "Sex And The City." Do you think people will forever see you as Mr. Big?
You know what? I've pretty much stopped thinking about that, because it doesn't do me any good and I can't control it. I have no idea what's in people's minds. I know it was an iconic show ... Talk about boundaries -- it pushed a lot of boundaries, mostly for the sake of humor, which I thought was great. You know, I don't know and I don't care.
What about when you're walking down the street?
Well, it's problematic because now we have a thing called camera phones. So everyone for some ungodly reason wants to have a picture. On a good day I take it, and on a bad day I scowl and walk away.
Well, you know, people are still watching "Sex And The City."
Yeah, but that doesn't mean they have to have a picture or call me "Big"! That's why I get a little bit cranky. But I accept it.
Big would probably get cranky too. Do you still keep in touch with your "Sex And The City" co-stars?
We all have children and lives that are different. In New York, I just ran into Kristn [Davis]. She was in a play that I was actually in in 2000, "Best Man." I ran into Cynthia Nixon. I haven't seen SJ [Sarah Jessica Parker], but we all kind of went our separate ways, as often happens with actors.
Do you think a "Sex And The City 3" movie will happen?
I don't know.
Do you think it would be overkill if they did it?
I think a good script is a good script if the writer wants to write it. But I think everybody's pretty much done I think they've kind of moved on.
Want to tell me about the Give & Give Back Program?
Well, I've teamed up with BV -- Beaulieu Vineyards. In a very real way, BV has educated me about a problem I didn't know existed on the level it did, which is hunger in America. That's what we're partnering up on. It honors what are called Hometown Hunger Heroes. These are people who work selflessly for food banks, churches and communities to stop and deal with hunger, to try to solve it. They don't get much recognition. If you know someone is like this, BV wants you to take a picture or write an email or Facebook message. Even if it's a small video about this person, we want to acknowledge them and pass the word on.
Did you know there are 16 million children that go to bed hungry in this country? There are one in six people in this country who are hungry and aren't getting food. Those are astonishing numbers. I was gobsmacked. This is a thing that shouldn't exist in this country ... hunger was something I thought we were actually getting ahead of, at least in the city of New York. But we're not. I think this Hometown Hunger Heroes is a brilliant idea because we want to spread that kind of community service. They're going to nominate and recognize eight hometown Hunger Heroes and then donate $10,00 dollars to their food bank. Then in April, out of those eight, we're going to pick someone and give them $10,000 dollars. That money will all go back to the community service center or the soup kitchen. Most importantly, get on Facebook and BV. Maybe you know someone that is quietly working in a soup kitchen or food bank. We want to bring that to light.
"The Good Wife" airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
