And Just Like That…, the much-anticipated sequel to the award-winning Sex and The City, burst onto the scene with a lot of buzz and lived up to all the hype.
Much like its predecessor, the series is exciting and funny, allowing the journeys of three core characters to continue and mature while allowing space for some newer characters to flourish.
One of those characters is Rock Goldenblatt, Charlotte and Harry’s 12-year-old child, who navigates adolescence and comes to terms with their identity in a groundbreaking storyline that plays out throughout the season.
Rock is played by the wonderfully talented Alexa Swinton, a young actress with a bevy of credits to her name already and a bright future.
We were delighted to chat with the lively Swinton, who was incredibly thoughtful in her answers to various topics from the upcoming season of the series, fashion, and her favorite television shows.
Sex and the City was a cultural phenomenon when it premiered in 1998, and its impact still reverberates in the air to this day.
Onboarding such an iconic series, the younger Swinton wasn’t quite aware of how huge the original series was.
“So it’s kind of funny because I don’t think I really realized the magnitude of how popular the show was when I originally got the part,” Swinton remarked. “It was really funny because I was like, ‘Oh, Sex and the City. That’s so cool.’ But I didn’t realize how much Sex and the City meant to so many people.
“But just recently, about two months ago, I actually watched the entire show, and I met a lot of people who are huge fans, and they talked about how they moved to the city just because of the show. And I realize now, especially after filming the second season, just how important it was in the ’90s and how big of a show it was.
“But it’s so funny because I did not realize it the first time I booked the part of Rock Goldenblatt.”
And Just Like That… has a stacked cast from top to bottom, and Swinton has enjoyed working alongside onscreen mom Kristin Davis.
“I spent a lot of time with Kristin because she plays my mom, and I love working with her,” Swinton told us. “She’s so serious about having good energy on set while still giving a hundred percent commitment.
“She’s always focused and always giving 100% while still being able to have fun and talk about our lives, which I think is something that’s really, really important. And I love seeing how she balances both of those things. And I think everyone on set is like one giant family. So it’s so nice to have been welcomed into it and become a part of it now.
“It’s really, really nice to work with her.”
The Goldenblatt family as a whole has a beautiful warmth, and their relationships feel very lived in. And that chemistry came naturally, as Swinton explained, “I think the second I met Cathy Ang, who plays my sister, we just clicked instantly, and I just knew I was going to love her. I think we just fell into a rhythm so quickly.
“And with Kristin, she actually came up to me at the first table before I’d met anybody, and she was like, ‘So nice to meet you, Alexa. I saw your tapes. I loved you. I knew from the second I saw you, you were the perfect Rock, and I can’t wait to welcome you to the part of the family.’ And it was nice.
“She actually said Rose at the time, but now it’s Rock. I was so lucky to have become friends with people who are just so warm because it made it so much easier to be part of a family with them on camera.”
Rock had a profound journey throughout And Just Like That Season 1, coming to terms with their identity, and it’s a story that’s been met with such universal acclaim. And it’s meant a lot to Swinton to be a part of that story.
“I think it’s so powerful and important to have a character that is non-binary and has gone through that experience in a TV show at the age of 13 because there hadn’t been anything like that before,” Swinton said.
“And I feel so incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to take on the role and be able to give life to a character who hadn’t really existed before in the way that there had been no non-binary people that were 12 years old, or really not many non-binary people in general, on television.
“So I think it’s really important, especially as people are starting to get more comfortable in trying to explore their gender identity to become someone that is able to show that it’s okay on television.”
Swinton feels fortunate to have her character serve as a platform to break away from stereotypical gender norms and any perceived negativity. And she herself has not received any negative/hate comments from fans, just lots of support and positive feedback.
“I think everyone loves Rock,” Swinton replied when asked about the feedback. “I think because they’re such a fun character, it’s hard not to love them. I mean, there’s been so much life given to them from Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago through the costumes.
“And I think it’s so nice to see that people love the show just as much as they did the first time. There’s still a part of the same life that was once made in the ’90s. And I think season two is also a great representation of Sex and the City. And I feel like this energy is very much back to what it once was.”
The heart and soul of the original series was always the friendship and bonds between those central women. And one of the dynamics fans came to enjoy in season one was the one between Lily and Rock.
“I definitely think we see more of that in season two,” Swinton explained of And Just Like That Season 2. “I think Lily and Rock are the epitome of siblings. I mean, they’re always fighting, they always have something to say about the other, but they love each other, and I think that’s so sweet because they have a friendship that wasn’t really represented in the original show of siblings.
“And having someone that you have so much unconditional love for but also someone that can piss you off so much. I think it’s so nice that we have that onscreen because they are such different characters, but they love each other, and they just have so much fun together. And I think it’s also very much represented in their rooms.
“It’s the exact same room, but it’s almost split into halves, with very different aesthetics on either side. And I think that’s a representation of their relationship as well.”
Another character in the original series, the movies, and the sequel is New York City. It’s as much a character as anyone. And Swinton couldn’t say enough good things about shooting in the most famous city in the world.
“I think it is so much fun,” Swinton said. “I get to go to places that I’ve never really been. We went to the New York City Armory, which was really fun. I see so much more of the city and how much people love the show. Because there are always people like, ‘Oh my God, they’re shooting Sex and the City here,’ and it’s always a bit of a secret.
“Because obviously, a lot of people will come if they know it’s Charlotte filming or Sarah Jessica Parker. It’s so much fun to be on the side of it. We’re seeing how many people love the show in the city, but also filming something there. Because I’ve grown up there, well technically New Jersey, but we went there all the time, every single day after school.
“I love to see different parts of it and explore different parts of the city and how much it’s evolved in the past ten years I’ve been here.”
Rock had many memorable scenes in season one, but did Swinton have a favorite?
“I loved filming the mitzvah, the last episode of the season,” Swinton said. “I had the most fun with that episode because I had the coolest costume. I was wearing a hot pink suit, a really cool tie. And there was this entire space, an entire venue dedicated just to Rock Goldenblatt. It was covered in candy and rainbow and all of that.
“And I just thought it was so much fun, especially because I got to keep some of the candy, and I loved that. And then also I got a chance to meet so many new people in that episode.
“I met the woman who plays Rabbi Jen, Hari Nef, who was the sweetest person I’ve ever met. She was so nice and so much fun to work with, and I think I was so lucky for that. And then also, the outfit I wore for the episode, the suit, was originally meant for Willie Garson.
“And it was really sweet to have a tribute to him, even just for the people who are watching the show or people who are in the crew of the show, to know that he’s still alive in the show through different parts of it.”
Speaking of fashion, we wondered if Swinton could collaborate with the costuming department on Rock’s exciting wardrobe.
“I definitely think because I’m a teenager and know a bit of the trends that are going around, that I offer some help to the costume designers,” Swinton said.
“But I also think a lot of their creativity of making a character so much more interesting than just wearing jeans and a tee-shirt, they wear layers of tee-shirts and cool jeans that they like thrift, and they have cool hats and socks.
“That’s the most fun part because everything I know gets created into something so much more interesting with different layers and colors. And I love fashion personally. I’ve followed it forever. I love following brands, so it’s nice to wear really cool brands.
“For the season two poster, I wore these Dior purple fuzzy shorts, and it was crazy because they matched that with a shirt from Uniqlo. And it’s so cool to see things like that be partnered because you don’t really think that you’re going to be partnering Dior shorts with Uniqlo, but they put it together so seamlessly.
“Molly and Danny are the best; they’re really good at their job, and that’s all credited to them. But it’s so much fun to be like, ‘Oh my God, that’s my favorite thing on the rack,’ and then get to wear it on the next episode.”
With And Just Like That… Season 2, we’ll see Rock have a lot of “fun,” and Swinton explained, “There’s this one little arc of them where they get to explore some new interests, and I think they kind of go in a new direction, kind of figure some things out about what they like to do.
“And there was one really fun day, I will say, where I was jumping up and down on a trampoline.”
While Swinton stars on one of the most popular shows these days, she enjoys many popular shows from years past.
As she told us, “I do have an all-time comfort show currently. It used to be Friends, and I was a huge Friends fanatic, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s my favorite show ever.’ But now it’s shifted more towards Gossip Girl, the original show. I think that now that I’m older, that’s just what I always love to come back to.
“I could really watch any episode and know exactly what’s going on because of how many times I’ve watched it. I love Blair. I love Chuck. My brother got to work with Leighton Meester’s husband, so I got to meet both of them. And that was cool. And actually, our set then, just that set, films in the exact original location of the Gossip Girl set.
“And so my bedroom was in the same place as Serena’s, and I think that’s really cool. And also, the makeup artist, Amy Tagliamonti, worked in the original Gossip Girl.
“So I feel like I have a bunch of connections now. And I even went as Serena van der Woodsen for Halloween this year, and she sent it to Blake Lively, and that was really, really cool. So 100% always a Gossip Girl fan.
“I’m watching Derry Girls right now, which is so much fun. It’s like an Irish sitcom, and I feel like it’s the updated version of Friends, and I absolutely adore it. It’s so much fun.”
You can catch Swinton on And Just Like That…when it returns to Max with new episodes every Thursday.
***This interview has been edited for length and clarity.***
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.