8. How Sharon Stone Got The Basic Instinct Gig
As iconic as Stones performance of Catherine Tramell is, she wouldnt have got the role if she hadnt behaved a certain way during the shooting of Total Recall. In post-production the actors were brought back into the recording studio to loop the film for TV effectively redubbing to remove or lessen the bad language and innuendos, which being a Verhoeven film took a long time. Stone had come across Joe Eszterhas script for
Basic Instinct, and used the whole looping process as an unofficial audition; she wore a short cocktail dress, addressed Verhoeven in a cold, stand-offish manner and didnt speak to anyone else. Verhoeven was so surprised and impressed by her attitude that he screen-tested her against the wishes of his producers, and the rest is history.