E-Paper
Sharon Stone on the famous leg-crossing scene in Basic Instinct: ‘Made me an icon, but didn’t bring me respect'
In a new interview, Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone reflected on the film’s notorious interrogation scene, which has followed her throughout her career.
Hollywood actor Sharon Stone has opened up about the complex legacy of her most well-known role, reflecting on both the acclaim and controversy it brought her. In a recent interview with Business Insider, the 67-year-old revisited her performance as Catherine Tramell in the 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct, particularly addressing the notorious interrogation scene that featured her briefly exposing herself on camera.
“It made me an icon, but it didn't bring me respect,” she said of the infamous moment. “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,” she added.
Over the years, Sharon has spoken candidly about how the scene was filmed. In her 2021 memoir The Beauty of Living Twice, she claimed she was misled into removing her underwear during the shoot after being told, “We can't see anything — I just need you to remove your panties, as the white is reflecting the light, so we know you have panties on.” She also recounted discovering the final shot only during a screening, writing that she “went to the projection booth, slapped Paul across the face, left, went to my car, and called my lawyer.”
Director Paul Verhoeven has denied Stone's claims, stating she “knew exactly what we were doing” during filming.
However, in her latest remarks, Sharon struck a more measured tone. “I very much believe that none of us knew at the time what we were getting in regard to that shot, and when Paul got it, he didn't want to lose it, and he was scared to show me. And I get that,” she explained. She further revealed that although she had the legal authority to demand the scene be cut, she ultimately allowed it to remain.
“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,” she said.
Despite the lasting scrutiny surrounding the scene, Sharon made it clear that her relationship with Paul remains positive. “What I did with what happened [in the interrogation scene] is exactly the way I wanted to do it,” she said.
“(Paul)Verhoeven and I have a wonderful relationship. I would work with him again in a second. We both understand. Even though we have different public ways of discussing it, we understand very well what happened regarding the crotch scene,” Sharon added.
Her reflections come amid renewed interest in Basic Instinct, with news that the film is being rebooted under the guidance of original screenwriter Joe Eszterhas. Sharon’s character, a seductive crime novelist entangled in a murder investigation, became one of the defining roles of the early ’90s.
