Starring in “Basic Instinct” changed Sharon Stone’s life. But she says her past with costar Michael Douglas almost derailed her chances of getting the role.
The legend goes that everyone turned down the role of ice-pick-wielding seductress Catherine Tramell in 1992’s “Basic Instinct” except Stone. But despite being desperate to land the part, Stone had a hard time getting an audition.
“Michael Douglas did not want to put his bare ass out on the screen with an unknown,” Stone told Business Insider. “But that was also for a different reason: We had an argument prior to that.”
Stone revealed that before auditioning for “Basic Instinct,” she and Douglas crossed paths at Cannes. It didn’t go well.
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The two happened to be out with a group of mutual friends. Stone said she overheard Douglas talking disparagingly about someone she knew, and she spoke up to defend the person, which resulted in Douglas yelling at Stone, “‘What the fuck do you know?’”
“So he screams this at me across a whole group of people,” Stone recalled. “And I’m not the person who goes, ‘Oh, excuse me, superstar.’ I pushed back my chair and said to him, ‘Let’s step outside.’ That’s how we first met.”
Stone said she and Douglas went outside, and she filled him in on what she knew about the person he was talking about.
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“And then we parted. I wouldn’t say as best friends, but amicably,” Stone said. “So, fast forward to casting ‘Basic Instinct,’ I don’t think he wanted me to be his costar.”
Douglas’ rep told Business Insider he “doesn’t recall seeing or knowing Sharon” until director Paul Verhoeven showed him Stone’s screen test for “Basic Instinct.” “The only time Michael remembers the two of them in Cannes together was when they were there to screen and promote the picture,” he added.
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Looking back now, Stone, 67, believes the tension between her and Douglas led to the movie’s success, as her character is never intimidated by the tough detective investigating her, Douglas’ character Nick Curran.
“It worked great because I was not rattled if he yelled at me,” she continued. “Eventually, we became the greatest of friends, to this day. I admire him tremendously.”