Hollywood actor Michael Douglas has had an illustrious career in the entertainment industry. Recipient of several accolades including two Academy Awards and five Golden Globes, he wasn’t always the big name he is today. Douglas has delivered many memorable performances in his over four decades of being in the business.
It is certainly strange to imagine but there seems to be a time when actresses were reluctant to work with the Ant-man star. The film production kept getting delayed because no actress was ready to get on board for this particular film. Michael Douglas shared this story himself.
Actresses Were Hesitant To Work With Michael Douglas In A Movie
The 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct is one of the shiniest jewels in Michael Douglas’s studded filmography. The film has some controversy surrounding it regarding issues of nudity and consent. And as it turns out, this is the very reason why actresses were reluctant to do the film.
Basic Instinct is intensely sensual. The scene that gives a peek at the lead actress Sharon Stone’s genitalia is one of the boldest scenes shot in Hollywood history. The accounts of how the scene came to be seem to vary as Stone denies giving consent for it and the director Paul Verhoeven continues to claim otherwise. While this dispute pertains, Michael Douglas himself revealed how hard it was to find an actress who was comfortable with the nudity involved in the film.
Attending the Cannes Film Festival last year, Douglas recounted the troubles Verhoeven and team went through to get an actress who’d be okay to play the role of Catherine Tramell. And consent to the nudity involved in the film. And Verhoeven was very upfront about that aspect, which Douglas felt drew potential actresses away. As he told Entertainment Weekly:
“It was very funny. We were auditioning, trying to find the right actress for the part, and Paul knew there was going to be a lot of active sex — there is in a lot of his films. So when he would meet these actresses, he would always preface it by saying, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. But there’ll be nudity. Yeah, nudity… Lots of nudity.’”
This approach only brought unfavorable results. Douglas further recalled saying this to Verhoeven:
“Paul, you don’t have to say that.’ So we kept getting turned down by actresses!”
The actresses did not seem to have an issue with nude scenes with Michael Douglas but rather with nude scenes in general.
How Did Sharon Stone End Up Playing The Role Many Had Declined?
In a twist of fate, Sharon Stone ended up auditioning for the part and getting it to make history. Stone was bold enough to do what many actresses before her decided not to.
Douglas recalled seeing her audition tape saying:
“Then I was over here in Europe and he sent me the audition tape. He played my part in the scene with Sharon, and she was spectacular. She was really good and did a wonderful job. We wanted to hit something, and we had a good script, and we had a fabulous actress in Sharon. She was just perfect for the role.”
Collaborations are the backbone of the entertainment industry. And films tend to work on the meant-to-be concept. Basic Instinct turned out to be one of the greatest collaborations which meant to start Sharon Stone in it.
