At a time when Hollywood preferred masculinity over anything else, Sharon Stone came in with her diverse acting capabilities and instantly became the most sought-after artist during the 80s and 90s. She had been a master of her craft ever since and enjoys a personality of a woman that nobody should ‘mess’ with.
Though it wasn’t an easy journey for her when first started out. She used to come really close to bagging a role and then getting sidelined for another actor. Watching this happen to her over and over again, one of her close friends that she used to call ‘really cheap’ actually helped her out and advised her to see an incredibly talented acting coach who would ‘change her life.’
Roy London Did Turn Stone’s Life Around
As we have enjoyed brilliant performances from the likes of Robert Downey Jr, Brad Pitt, and Forest Whitaker, we have Roy London to thank for that. The late acting coach instilled a sense of power in her acting.
London’s coaching style had been very different from most. He threw Sharon Stone into natural scenarios and pushed her limits so she could bring out the side of her she didn’t know existed.
According to her –
“Standing in a driveway and waiting for someone, I’m suddenly struck with a deeper meaning of things just as I’m going through that moment. It has been nearly 25 years since he passed away and his teachings are still with me. Good teachers are like that.”
She Recalls Facing Sexism In Her Early Days
Hollywood hasn’t been very kind to women and showcased them as a commodity that men had to woo just so a film could justify a romantic angle.
During the filming of Basic Instinct, Sharon Stone was asked to remove her underwear for a particularly racy scene where she crosses and uncrosses her legs. This is the same scene where she first shared the screen with the talented Michael Douglas. She got really uncomfortable with the director’s demands.
Paul Verhoeven, the director of the film said to her –
“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.”
Stone’s manager had even called her ‘unf–kable’ as she didn’t look ‘s*xy’ enough for films.
It didn’t just stop there, one of the producers of the film even told her to sleep with her co-star so they could have better on-screen chemistry. She however stood for herself not knowing what they would do with those scenes and went up to see Verhoeven and ‘slapped’ him across his face.
The 65-year-old actor will be next seen in DC’s upcoming film Blue Beetle slated to release on August 18 this year.
Source: Vanity Fair
