Basic Instinct: Sharon Stone reveals Michael Douglas refused to test with her after argument

The 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct, which became a commercial success at the global box office, had a difficult time casting the actors in it. Several actresses had gone through testing, but Sharon Stone was eventually considered for the ice-pick killer in the film. However, it wasn't a critical success and only attracted mixed reviews for it, although Michael Douglas and Stone's parts in it were widely praised.

Sharon had an interview with Business Insider recently, where she shared her first meeting with her co-actor. She told Jason Guerrasio that,

"Everyone they went out to would turn it down. But the thing was, Michael Douglas did not want to put his bare ass out on the screen with an unknown — 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."

She then went on to share the story about this argument that happened during the Cannes Film Festival. She said,

"This was at Cannes. A bunch of us were all sitting, and he was talking about someone and their kids. I really, really knew this person he was talking about. So I said something and he responded to me, saying, "What the fuck do you know?" It was in regard to a father-child relationship. Clearly, it triggered him."

But that was actually a good thing, as this incident helped in the development of their characters.

Her manager stole the Basic Instinct script for her

In another interview, Sharon gave to Vanity Fair in 2021, she recalled the things she and her manager had to go through before she finally became the ice-pick killer.

She told the publication that her manager, Chuck, had to break into the director's office and steal the script for her. When she read it, it instantly attracted her to that part. After that, Chuck had to call Paul Verhoeven, who directed the film, for months. After 12 actresses had failed at testing, she was finalized for Basic Instinct opposite Michael Douglas.

Why did so many actresses turn down the role?

Michael Douglas played Detective Nick Curran in Basic Instinct. (Image via Carolco Pictures)

The simple answer to that is there's a lot of nudity in the film, and actresses weren't comfortable with this. In his article for The Criterion Collection, David Hudson called it "perhaps the quintessential erotic thriller of the 1990s." The actresses who turned down the role include Kim Basinger, Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, and more.

For her role in Basic Instinct, Sharon Stone was nominated for the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and more. She won the Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Female at the MTV Movie Awards.

How much was Sharon Stone paid for her role?

Sharon Stone was less popular than Michael Douglas when they filmed Basic Instinct (Image via Getty)

Sharon Stone was paid only 500 grand for her portrayal of Catherine Tramell in the film, which is way lower than what Michael Douglas got, which is $14 million. This might be because Douglas was already an established star in the industry, in contrast to her co-star.

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