Sharon Stone Reveals The Truth Behind This Basic Instinct Scene

Sharon Stone has had an impressive career in Hollywood. The actress has starred in films such as Casino, Sliver, Total Recall, Running Wild, and more (via IMDb). Now, after a long career, she's ready to tell all in her brand new memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, per People. In the book, she documents many parts of her life, including some of the struggles she's gone through working as an actress in Los Angeles. One of the most shocking parts of her memoir is what she endured while filming her breakout role in the movie Basic Instinct. 

Stone reveals that after she landed the role she was asked to meet with director Paul Verhoeven and other members of the production. Stone says that while meeting with the line producer, she was told that she wasn't high on the list of actresses to play the role of Catherine Tramell. "He closed the door and sat down and said, 'You were not our first choice, Karen. No, you were not even the second or the third. You were the thirteenth choice for this film.' He continued to call me Karen all through the making and postproduction of the movie," Stone wrote in her memoir, per Vanity Fair. However, that wasn't the most shocking part of her experience on the set of the film.

Sharon Stone's performance in 1992's Basic Instinct skyrocketed her to fame. However, there was one scene in particular that had fans talking. At one point in the film, Stone's character sits in a chair with her legs crossed. She later uncrosses her legs, leaves them apart for a moment, and then crosses them again. During the shot, viewers can see up Stone's skirt, and it's clear that she's not wearing any underwear. However, the actress says that she was tricked into taking off her underwear for the scene, and that she wasn't aware they were going to show up her skirt in the film.

Stone writes in her book that she was asked to remove her underwear because the white was reflecting the light. However, she was told that the camera couldn't see anything inappropriate. It wasn't until a viewing of the movie "with a room full of agents and lawyers" that she saw the explicit scene. After the viewing, the actress claims that she slapped director Paul Verhoeven across the face before leaving and calling her lawyer, Marty Singer. The attorney told her that it was illegal for them to film up her skirt, and claimed that the movie couldn't be made. Of course, fans know that the film was released, and the scene stayed in.

Although she wasn't happy about the camera showing her intimate areas, Sharon Stone eventually agreed to allow the scene to remain in the film. In her memoir, she explains why she opted for the movie to continue with the racy shot, and how it's impacted her as an actress. "I thought and thought and I chose to allow this scene in the film. Why? Because it was correct for the film and for the character; and because, after all, I did it," she writes (via Vanity Fair).

"I can say that the role was by far the most stretching that I had ever done in terms of considering the dark side of myself. It was terrifying. I had walked in my sleep three times during production, twice waking fully dressed in my car in my garage. I had hideous nightmares," Stone admitted. However, it appears that the actress does hold an appreciation for the film, as she reprised her famed role in the 2006 sequel Basic Instinct 2, per IMDb.