Brian Van Holt, who played Wylie Ford in Sex and the City, has revealed that his character was inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio and his friend group, the “P***y Posse.” Speaking on Kristin Davis’ podcast, Van Holt explained that the stories surrounding DiCaprio’s inner circle directly influenced his role.
Did Leonardo DiCaprio inspire Sex and the City character?
Brian Van Holt revealed that his portrayal of Wylie Ford in Sex and the City was influenced by stories surrounding Leonardo DiCaprio and his alleged group of friends.
Speaking on the August 18 episode of Kristin Davis’ Are You a Charlotte podcast, the 56-year-old actor explained, “I don’t even know if this is true; this is probably all rumored and hearsay, but there’s the P***y Posse. So that character Wylie Ford was loosely based on the P***y Posse shenanigans.”
Davis, who played Charlotte York on the HBO series, recalled the notorious nickname. The group reportedly included DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Lukas Haas. and Kevin Connolly. It was rumored to have built a reputation around womanizing and pranks.
Van Holt said that playing Wylie Ford allowed him to “channel my inner douche bag.” He described the process as both “fulfilling creatively” and “very therapeutic.” The actor added that he leaned into the role by asking himself, “How can I be as douchey as possible? To represent something that I don’t really care for?”
Van Holt even joked about conducting “a lot of research” in order to portray the over-the-top Wylie Ford. Wylie appeared in a season 2 storyline as a celebrity heartthrob who briefly dated Charlotte. Their romance quickly ended after Charlotte decided she was uncomfortable with his sexual demands.
Although he emphasized that the group as a whole provided the foundation for his performance, Van Holt did not specify whether any one member directly inspired him. Despite Van Holt’s revelation, the show’s writers and producers have never officially confirmed who or what inspired the character.
Originally reported by Disheeta Maheshwari on Mandatory.
