Sharon Stone is one of the most successful Hollywood actresses of her generation, and one of the best things about her is that she really doesn’t give a rat’s backside whether she causes uproar by speaking her truth. She’s never shy about calling out ageism, sexism, and other problematic standards, and we love her for it. And while many stars would shy away from naming names when it comes to bad experiences on film sets, Sharon was quick to praise two male actors in particular for being two of the only decent ones she’s ever had the pleasure of working with: Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.
Sharon Stone worked with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in 1995’s “Casino.”
At that point, she’d been a working actress for nearly 15 years, so she’d already compiled a long list of negative experiences with men in Hollywood.
She was used to being objectified for her physical beauty, which is why it was often more of a surprise when her male colleagues didn’t do that. Enter: Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, two of the only guys she’d ever worked with who weren’t raging misogynists.
The way men have treated Sharon Stone on film sets is disgusting.
In an interview with Variety, Stone admitted she was used to being undermined, belittled, and condescended to over the years.
“I’ve worked with some of the biggest stars in the business, who will literally talk through my close-up, telling me what they think I should do,” she explained. “They’re so misogynistic—now, that is not Robert De Niro. That is not Joe Pesci, that is not those guys. But I have worked with some really big stars who will literally talk out loud through my close-up, telling me what to do.”
She added: “They just will not listen to me, and will not allow me to affect their performance with my performance. That’s not great acting. I mean, I get that you’re great and everybody thinks you’re wonderful. But listening, being present for those fractured moments, is really the human experience.”
Being beautiful in Hollywood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
In fact, Stone admitted that her physical appearance actually held her back in Hollywood in many ways as it limited the types of roles she was able to play. That’s why playing a complex hustler in “Casino” was such a welcome departure.
“I don’t get called upon to play these parts—I get called upon to take off my clothes and play these crazy sociopathic characters because I played one [in multiple past films],” Stone admitted. “I don’t get called upon to play thoughtful, sensitive characters. I’m a painter—I have two shows coming up—and I’m a songwriter, I’ve had three number ones in other countries. But I’m never going to get Basic Instinct off of my head. I came into this world looking like a Barbie, so it’s complicated for people to allow me the opportunity to be anything else.”
