In 1992, Basic Instinct, Sharon Stone played Catherine Tramell, a role which required her to be seductive and mysterious. In line with her character, she performed a leg-crossing scene.
It sparked a storm at the time, but decades later, the actress looked back at the movie in an interview with Business Insider, sharing she had no regrets despite having the legal right to remove the scene, which she did not use.
“I very much believe that none of us knew at the time what we were getting in regard to that shot, and when Paul [Verhoeven] got it, he didn’t want to lose it, and he was scared to show me. And I get that,” the 67-year-old remembered.
She continued, “Once I had time to calm down, I didn’t make him take it out of the movie when I had the legal right to.”
“So I did have the chance to do it differently, and I didn’t because once I had the chance to step back, I understood, as the director, not the girl in the film, that that made the movie better,” the star added.
Though Basic Instinct spiked Sharon’s popularity, her personal life suffered in contrast. Losing her son’s custody, for example.
Despite this, the Casino star said, “It made me an icon, but it didn’t bring me respect. But would I do it again? We don’t get to make these choices in life. I don’t participate in the fantasy world in this way.”
“What I did with what happened is exactly the way I wanted to do it. Verhoeven and I have a wonderful relationship,” Sharon concluded.
