Chris Noth is in very merry spirits as he leans on a pal during boozy night out with friends in New York after returning to work with a one-night only production in Denver

Chris Noth channeled his Sex And The City character Mr Big as he had fun in the Big Apple on Monday night.

The actor was in good spirits after dining at the Polo Bar with friends, leaning on a male friend as he made his way home.

Dressed in a striking blue suit, the fencer beamed as he carefully made his way through the sodden sidewalks.

Noth returned to the stage on Sunday for a one-night production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver.

The actor was reunited with his Yale School of Drama friends for the production, with director Jennifer McCray Rincón contacting the SATC star to ask him to play the lead role, George Bailey.

Rincon told the Denver publication Westword that she thought Noth was perfect for the role that James Stewart made famous for his ‘trials and tribulations’.

“It takes a complex actor to walk in those shoes… the greatest actors, their performances are always about opposition,” the director explained.

‘That creates depth and authenticity: no one is one thing. I think of Chris that way; he is very powerful, but also has emotional depth and darkness.”

‘He has children of his own, so he knows what it’s like to have a family. He is married and has gone through his own trials and tribulations.”

Noth saw his career turned upside down in 2021 when he faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has since firmly denied.

The 69-year-old has admitted to ‘straying my wife’, which was ‘devastating for her’, but added: ‘What it isn’t is a crime.’

Last year, he strongly denied multiple allegations of sexual misconduct in his first interview about the allegations that infamously put his career on hold.

Noth, who insists he is still close to his former Sex and the City co-stars, told USA today that all encounters he had outside his marriage were consensual.

“I strayed from my wife, and it’s devastating for her and not a very pretty picture,” he told the outlet. “What it isn’t is a crime.”

The former Law and Order star has been married to his wife Tara Wilson, 45, since 2012. The couple were together for ten years before tying the knot and are parents to two children: Orion, 16, and Keats, four. Nothing said he talked to his teen about the situation.

The SAG nominee admitted his infidelity, saying, “You give yourself the same excuses as a lot of men; it’s just a little dance, and it’s fun.

He said he justified himself by telling himself, “You’re not hurting anyone. No one will know about this, you know, and sex is just fun.”

‘And suddenly a lot of people want to have sex with you. It’s like, ‘Well, I’m not going to get this chance again.'”

Four women have told very different stories about their experiences with the Sex and the City star.

In December 2021, just weeks after his character was killed off on the SATC spin-off And Just Like That, two women went public with their allegations of sexual misconduct.

One claimed he raped her in 2015 after she met the actor while she was working as a waiter at a nightclub.

The second told The Hollywood Reporter Noth raped her in 2004.

The actor’s representative called the allegations “categorically false.”

A third woman came forward shortly after the THR article and told the story The everyday beast she was attacked by the Gone actor when she was 18 and working at a restaurant in New York.

Noth denied these allegations, along with the claims of a fourth woman who also accused him of misconduct.

Noth’s character, Big, was killed off in the first episode of the Sex and the City spin-off And Just Like That, a move that was planned as part of the storyline.

The veteran star was fired from his job on the CBS drama The Equalizer shortly after the allegations were made public.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis issued a joint statement saying, “We stand with the women who have come forward and shared their painful experiences. We know it must be a very difficult thing to do and we commend them for that.”

No criminal charges have been filed yet. New York has no statute of limitations for rape.

The actor hinted that the women who accused him may have had a financial motive.

“That’s a money train for a lot of people,” he said.

No lawsuits have been filed against the Manhunt actor.

“There’s nothing I can say to change anyone’s mind when you have a groundswell like that,” he claimed.

‘It sounds defensive. Not me. There is no criminal court. There is no criminal trial. There is nothing for me to sit on the witness stand and get my story out there and get witnesses.”

The Good Wife actor was directing and performing at a theater in Massachusetts at the time.

He was working for Samuelsohn, a suit company that was launching a campaign to raise awareness about men’s mental health, when he spoke to the USA Today reporter.

“I’m an actor,” he said.

“I have other things I want to do creatively. And I have children to support. I can’t just rest on my laurels,” he said of his limited options.

“I have enough to let a year pass, but I don’t know how to estimate or judge whether I will return to the club or the company, because companies are afraid.”

“Fear is the main key word when it comes to whether they believe it or not,” he explained.

‘I just have to keep going. It’s tough because people are afraid and their fear guides them. And I just have to persevere, because I still have a creative life.’