Jennifer Hudson is now Carrie Bradshaw’s dream girl.
After a two-year absence from the big screen, the Chicago native re-emerges Friday in one of the most anticipated films of the year, “Sex and the City.” Hudson, who last was seen on-screen in her Oscar-winning performance as Effie in “Dreamgirls,” plays Louise, Carrie’s assistant.
Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) is now a big-time author, and sweet and sassy Louise not only keeps Carrie’s professional life in order, but also she offers her boss sage advice on navigating her personal relationships.
It’s a small but significant role, and Hudson said she enjoyed her transition from Motown to the Big Apple.
“I love it — ‘Dreamgirls’ and a ‘Sex and the City’ girl? That’s hot. I like the idea,” Hudson said.
She also dug taking on a role in which she didn’t have to sing.
“I loved that,” said Hudson, who did record a song called “All Dressed in Love” for the movie’s soundtrack. “I don’t mind singing and acting in a film, but I don’t want every role to be like that.”
Prior to auditioning to play Louise, Hudson never had seen an episode of the HBO hit. But once she read the script and watched all six seasons of the show on DVD, she “fell in love with it.” Hudson particularly identified with Charlotte (Kristin Davis), she said, because “she’s like the wholesome, traditional girl and that’s more like me.”
Working alongside actresses who had breathed life into iconic characters for so long was a bit intimidating for Hudson. But Hudson, 26, says that Parker, Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall made her feel at home right away.
“I felt like the baby of the family,” she said.
Hudson said she and Parker connected on-screen and off.
“We kind of had this understanding about each other,” she said. “She was like my biggest cheerleader.”
Parker, who also produced the film, said Hudson had a great enthusiasm on the set.
“The fact that Jennifer Hudson wanted to play the part was really lucky [for us] …,” Parker said. “She was so young and beautiful in ‘Dreamgirls.’ In this, she is this luminous young woman, and what’s so surprising about this performance is she’s young but she brings this maternal quality that is so necessary to Carrie.
“I don’t know that anyone else could have brought the same warmth and compassion to that part.”
