OF THE four women on SATC, Kristin Davis may be least like the character she plays.

Unlike Charlotte York, the 43-year-old is not prim, pert and proper.

It begins with the exterior: Davis makes a point to avoid the kind of perky, pink outfits Charlotte favours, choosing, as she does on the day of the interview, an all-black ensemble in which the only hint of colour is an outsized red rock on her finger (borrowed, Davis says).

And while Charlotte saw marriage as the holy grail, Davis is single and dating.

Not that she's doing all that much of that either, or so she claims.

'Dating is not easy,' she says.

Is her celebrity an impediment? 'I have friends who aren't famous and it's not easy for them either,' she says.

Fame, however, complicates things.

'I'm not as available to talk to people I don't know. I stay home a lot more. And it's hard to meet people you don't know in your own home. I mean, they can't just show up.'

Some may wish they could. A Japanese fan reportedly paid US$52,100 (S$70,900) for the privilege of accompanying Davis to the movie's New York premiere. The money will go to Oxfam, a charity she supports.

Since the series wrapped, she has appeared in forgettable fare such as Deck The Halls (2006) and The Shaggy Dog (2006).

Returning to the movie was liberating, she says, with the familiar cast and crew allowing everyone to be freer on set and to take more risks.

Compared to the series, however, there were mobs of paparazzi this time.

'Once in a while, you meet people who haven't watched the show and that's always nice,' she says, crinkling her brow as she tries to recall an example of that rare event. 'Well, it happened in China.'

What advice does she have for fellow daters?

'Stay hopeful,' she says, and for a moment you can almost see Charlotte's idealism peeking through. 'I don't always do that myself, but I tell myself that and I believe it.'