Sharon Stone gave a recent interview in which she revealed the identity of the producer who pressured her to have sex with a co-star to improve their on-set chemistry.
The famous actress told the story in her 2021 memoir, but at the time, she didn’t disclose the identities of the co-star or the producer who made the bold suggestion.
During an interview on “The Louis Theroux Podcast,” which was posted Monday, the star identified the producer as being Robert Evans, and said the star he told her to sleep with was none other than Alec Baldwin’s brother, William Baldwin. Stone said she was working on the 1993 thriller “Sliver” at the time.
As head of production at Paramount, Evans oversaw such legendary films as “Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Godfather” and “Serpico.” He died in 2019.
Sharon Stone attends the “Women in Cinema” red carpet during the Red Sea International Film Festival on December 02, 2022 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival
Producer Robert Evans arrives at the 2nd Annual Rebels With A Cause Gala at Paramount Studios on March 20, 2014 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
The 66-year-old actress explained her experience at the time.
“They expected me to bring home another giant smash hit and they gave me casting approval and they gave me all these approvals, but then when it came time for me to do it they told me it was a vanity deal and I couldn’t have my approvals,” the “Quick and the Dead” star said on the podcast. “Then they started to try to blame me for their mistakes, and they made terrible mistakes in the way that they hired directors and cast.”
Stone said Evans then called her into his office and requested that she have sex with Baldwin.
Sharon Stone attends The Women’s Cancer Research Fund’s An Unforgettable Evening Benefit Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on February 28, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Actor William Baldwin from the film “Adrift In Manhattan” poses for a portrait during the 2007 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2007 in Park City, Utah. Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images
“He called me to his office. He had these very low seventies, eighties couches, so I’m essentially sitting on the floor, when I should have been on set,” Stone said, reaclling the moment.
She told Theroux that Evans attempted to frame the request as something totally routine.
“And he’s running around his office in sunglasses explaining to me that he slept with Ava Gardner and I should sleep with Billy Baldwin, because if I slept with Billy Baldwin, Billy Baldwin’s performance would get better,” she said. “And we needed Billy to get better in the movie because that was the problem.”
Actress Sharon Stone attends the ‘Behind The Candelabra’ premiere during The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Theatre Lumiere on May 21, 2013 in Cannes, France. Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
She explained why Evans believed that the co-stars getting intimate off-screen would improve the situation.
“And if I could sleep with Billy then we’d have chemistry on screen, and if I would just have sex with him then that would save the movie, and the real problem with the movie was me because I was so uptight, and so not like a real actress who could just fuck him and get things back on track,’ she said.
US actress Sharon Stone arrives for the screening of the film “Crimes Of the Future” during the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 23, 2022. Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP
Sharon Stone attends amfAR Milano 2012 during Milan Fashion Week at La Permanente on September 22, 2012 in Milan, Italy. Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
“The real problem was I was such a tight ass,” Stone recalled the producer saying.
Stone then noted that she had successfully portrayed sexual chemistry in the film “Basic Instinct” without ever sleeping with co-star Michael Douglas.
“I didn’t have to fuck Michael Douglas. Michael could come to work and know how to hit those marks, and do that line, and rehearse and show up,” she said on the podcast. “Now all of a sudden I’m in the ‘I have to fuck people’ business,” she said. (RELATED: Film Insider Kristina Arjona Explains The Cringey Sex Scenes Between Actors With 30-Year Age Gap)
“Sliver” went on to become a financial success but a critical failure, racking up seven Golden Raspberry nominations, including Worst Actor and Worst Actress nods for Baldwin and Stone, respectively.
This story has been updated to include the correct title of the 1993 film, which is “Sliver,” not “Silver.”