Sharon Stone says she almost didn't get ‘Basic Instinct' role after fight with Michael Douglas
'Michael Douglas did not want to put his bare ass out on the screen with an unknown,' Stone told Business Insider in an interview published Friday, Aug. 1. 'And I understood that. He wouldn't even test with me. But that was also for a different reason; we had an argument prior to that.'
Stone, the 67-year-old actor who was once married to former Chronicle senior vice president and executive editor Phil Bronstein, said she first met Douglas at the Cannes Film Festival before she was cast in Paul Verhoeven's 1992 noir. While sitting in a group she said she became offended when Douglas told a negative story about people she knew.
'I really, really knew this person he was talking about,' Stone recalled. 'So I said something and he responded to me, saying, 'What the f— do you know? ' It was in regard to a father-child relationship. Clearly, it triggered him. So he screams this at me across a whole group of people. 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.'
Once alone, Stone said she 'explained to him what the f— I knew about this family he was speaking about, and that I was best friends with the children and the parent.'
Douglas, she claimed, accepted her explanation.
'And then we parted, I wouldn't say as best friends, but amicably,' Stone continued. 'So, fast forward to casting 'Basic Instinct,' I don't think he wanted me to be his co-star.'
Stone had been knocking around Hollywood for years in B movies and guest roles in TV shows before being cast in 1992's 'Basic Instinct.' She became a major star after her turn as the ice-pick wielding, underwear optional femme fatale Catherine Trammell, a prime suspect in a murder investigation who manages to seduce San Francisco cop Nick Curran (Douglas).
She told Business Insider their past friction was beneficial to their performances.
'It worked great, because I was not rattled if he yelled at me,' Stone said. 'That was interesting for the character, because Michael has a temper, and I didn't care. That worked very well in our dynamic. Eventually, we became the greatest of friends, to this day. I admire him tremendously.'
'Nobody 2,' which stars Bob Odenkirk, opens in theaters on Aug. 15.
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