Willie Garson's Pre-'Sex and the City' Date With Sarah Jessica Parker

Ali Wentworth

Willie Garson is best known for playing Stanford Blatch, Carrie's gay best friend on "Sex and the City." But the actor had a little-known relationship with Sarah Jessica Parker long before the show debuted.

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In 1985, the pair dated. "There was a romantic element, more on my side than on her side," Willie recalls. "But our love was going to be lifelong, whether it was marital bliss or friendship bliss, and it's still intact."

Over the course of the six seasons of "Sex and the City," Willie portrayed Stanford's character so convincingly that people still mistake him for being gay in real life. "For homosexuals watching interviews, there's nothing worse than straight actors coming on interview shows and doing cartwheels screaming about how they're not actually homosexuals," Willie says. "Do I care what someone thinks? No."

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"When I was on 'NYPD Blue,' no one asked me if I was a murderer; on 'White Collar,' no one asks me if I'm an international jewel thief," he adds, but on "Sex and the City," he says, "all of a sudden, 'Oh, well, he's playing a homosexual? He must be really gay!'"

To hear about the fear that Willie's character conquers this season on "White Collar," check out this episode of "Daily Shot."