Sharon Stone spills ‘Basic Instinct’ drama with Michael Douglas

Sharon Stone says Michael Douglas refused to screen test with her, fuelling old casting rumours.

Sharon Stone has blown the lid off a decades-old rumour about her breakout role in Basic Instinct, claiming Michael Douglas didn’t want her as his co-star after a heated argument between the two long before filming began. In a recent interview, the 67-year-old actress recalled that Douglas refused to screen test with her, something she now believes stemmed from a verbal clash they had at the Cannes Film Festival.

The altercation, according to Stone, started during a casual conversation in a group setting, where Douglas allegedly snapped at her after she weighed in on a discussion about family. “He screamed at me across a whole group of people,” she recalled. Not one to back down, Stone challenged him to “step outside,” where she says she made it clear she knew the people he was talking about. The two parted amicably, but not warmly.

Fast forward to the casting of Basic Instinct, and Stone believes Douglas still hadn’t let it go. “I don’t think he wanted me to be his co-star,” she said. At the time, Stone was still an unknown, and Douglas, already a major star, allegedly didn’t want to take a risk by sharing the screen with her in such a provocative role.

Douglas’s camp, however, responded with surprise, saying he doesn’t recall the incident and remembers only seeing Stone for the first time during her screen test, after which he gave the go-ahead. The rep added that the two became friends by the time the film was released.

The tension, Stone now says, ultimately helped their onscreen chemistry. “Michael has a temper, and I didn’t care,” she admitted, suggesting the fiery dynamic only heightened the intensity of their infamous thriller.