Whatever Happened to Jason Lewis, a.k.a. Smith From ‘Sex and the City’?
Whatever happened to Jason Lewis, the man who played Smith on Sex and the City?
More than two decades after SATC premiered, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon remain closely associated with the iconic HBO show. However, it goes without saying that they aren't the only stars who deserve recognition for the series.
One name that shouldn't be forgotten is Jason Lewis, who played Jerry Jerrod, a.k.a. Smith, the actor and model who won the affections of the notoriously relationship-averse Samantha Jones (Cattrall).
Lewis, then a rising star when he made his debut on the series, could draw some parallels to the character he brought to life for the franchise.
He told The Daily Front Row that he got his start as a model and worked in Paris before booking campaigns with the likes of GUESS and Tommy Hilfiger. He also worked as an actor. By the time he landed his iconic role, he'd already made cameos on Beverly Hills, 90210 and CSI: Miami.
When did his character become the scene-stealing dreamboat on SATC and what's happened to Jason Lewis since? Read on to find out.
Playing Smith on Sex and the City
Jason Lewis made his Sex and the City debut in 2003. His character, a romantic foil to Kim Cattrall's Samantha, played a significant role throughout the sixth and final season. According to his profile on IMDb, the actor was featured in 16 of the last 20 episodes.
Fans watched Samantha and Smith's relationship evolve when Lewis reprised the role of the himbo with a heart of gold in 2008 and 2010 for the big-screen adaptations of the series: Sex and the City and Sex and the City 2, respectively.
The actor reflected on the opportunity to play Smith again in an interview with Entertainment Weekly ahead of the first movie.
"I feel pretty lucky," he said. "It definitely helps you in terms of getting other work and whatnot, but this is some of the really special TV that’s been in the world and I got to be on it and I certainly had not much more to do than say the wonderful lines that were written for me. So I feel blessed."
After 2010, SATC maintained a dedicated following, but the story appeared to be complete. Then, just like that, things changed.
Did Smith Appear in And Just Like That...?
Most dedicated Sex and the City fans already know that the franchise got a revival in late 2021 called And Just Like That... The project brought back many of the original stars including three of the four main actors: Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis.
Did Jason Lewis get a chance to reintroduce Smith? The answer to that question is a resounding no.
He told The Daily Front Row that he had not been approached for the reboot. "As much as I appreciate the flattery, the conversation is about the girls," he said.
While it's unclear if Lewis would have been interested, the absence of one major series character all but guaranteed Smith would be left in the past.
Kim Cattrall, who has long feuded with Sarah Jessica Parker, declined to return for the new series. Showrunner Michael Patrick King made it very clear that she had less than zero interest in playing Samantha. Without her, Lewis' Smith wouldn't make much sense.
While Smith missed out on And Just Like That... he doesn't seem to be hurting for it.
He told The Daily Front Row that he did not see Smith and Samantha rekindling their old flame, but he did see his character making it in Hollywood.
"I think he was a facilitator. I think he went into production," Lewis hypothesized. "He was a lifter of others, so he would have moved past [acting]. Which is where we differ! But I think he would still be in the industry."
Where Did Jason Lewis Go After Sex and the City?
Jason Lewis predicted that Smith would move beyond acting. That's where they differ.
After hitting it big on Sex and the City, the star continued to land film and TV roles. In 2005, he showed up on Charmed where Lewis played a character named Dev Lawson for six episodes.
He also made a cameo on the medical drama House and appeared on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In later years Lewis' resume included an appearance on the classic soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful and a variety of films. Most recently he enjoyed a 19-episode arc on a TV series called Midnight, Texas between 2017 and 2018.
But he's more than just an actor. His bio on Instagram — "sometimes an actor, sometimes a writer, sometimes an activist" — alludes to his eclectic passions. Lewis told The Daily Front Row that he also had some production projects in the works and hinted at a return to modeling.
There are clearly creative projects on the horizon. Meanwhile, Lewis showcases his activism and advocacy work on Instagram.
He shared several posts encouraging his followers to vote ahead of the 2020 election and posted another that lauded the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
The star has also been a longtime ally of the LGBTQ+ community and portrayed gay characters in Brothers & Sisters and Midnight, Texas.
Lewis showed his support in an interview with BlackBook. "I love those people, I always have," he said. "I’m a child of the hippie California generation. In this industry, there are a lot of gay people, I’ve always been around gay people."
That message translates over to social media, where he shared a message of love with LGBTQ+ youths on Spirit Day in 2020.
Other causes he's advocated for include Black Lives Matter and St. Jude's. Lewis has also raised awareness about the threat of climate change and generally seems to use his platform to try and make the world a brighter place.
While he didn't predict a happily ever after for Samantha and Smith, Lewis found one of his own. In 2020 the actor proposed to his partner Liz Godwin.
“She loves me when I am amazing, and when I am not,” he told People. “She is always on my side and ever my support. She creates space for me in which I grow and I am a better man for knowing her, so the humble ask to take her as my wife, and of course her ‘yes,’ are absolute blessings to my life.”
The pair reportedly had their sights set on a fall wedding in 2021, but we haven't seen anything that confirms they've said "I do" just yet. However, they celebrated their sixth anniversary with a trip to Rome the same year.
Jason Lewis Hasn't Forgotten Sex and the City
Though he wasn't involved in the revival, it goes without saying that Jason Lewis hasn't forgotten what is arguably his most successful acting project to date. In 2018 he celebrated the franchise's 20th anniversary with a nostalgia-inducing post on Instagram.
"A shout out to a show that was so great to be a part of and that honored all of us the stories it offered," Lewis wrote in the accompanying caption.
He also endorsed his former co-star Cynthia Nixon's (unsuccessful) campaign to become governor of New York.
Check it out below:
It seems pretty clear to us that Lewis looks back on SATC and his co-stars with fond memories. If And Just Like That... gets brought back for a second season, maybe he'll get a chance to show us what happened to Smith and how the character's been living in a world without Samantha.
We can't help but wonder what the future holds for Jason Smith, after all.