After making a turn in her profession, Sharon Stone decided to move to New York to pursue a career in acting. She had multiple on-screen appearances before having her breakthrough in the 1990 film Total Recall. Although the film gave her career a boost, it wasn’t enough for her to get paid as much as her co-star in her next big film, which would make her a star and give her worldwide recognition.

Sharon Stone
The actress later shared during an interview, that although she got the fame and success for playing Catherine Tramell in the 1992 film Basic Instinct, she wasn’t able to make enough money to afford a dress to attend the Academy Awards.

Sharon Stone Was Immensely Underpaid For Basic Instinct

Before casting Sharon Stone in the 1992 film, makers had a long list of top Hollywood stars at the time who they wanted to cast as Catherine Tramell. However, most of them rejected the offer due to the film’s subject matter. Later Paul Verhoeven, who worked with Stone in Total Recall, suggested her for the role.

Total Recall (1990)
The erotic thriller was a massive success at the time and grossed over $350 million at the box office. However, its success did not have any effect on the Sliver actress’ salary for the film. Considering she was not that big of a star in Hollywood, Stone was only paid $500,000 for her work in the movie.

However, her co-star Michael Douglas made a whopping $14 million from the 1992 film. Stone shared that she was allowed to keep her character’s wardrobe after the film and was in a “weird limbo,” where she had fame, but did not have enough money to afford a dress to attend the Academy Awards.

Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instincts
“I made not enough money to buy my dress to go to the Oscars the next year,” she shared during an interview with CBS Radio. However, this did not stop her from making her way into the film industry as she would go on to make a fortune as one of the best actresses in Hollywood.

Sharon Stone’s Growth After Basic Instinct

While her work in the 1992 film did not pay her enough, the actress gained enough recognition to earn much more than her earlier films, Followed by Paul Verhoeven’s 1992 film she starred in Silver, for which she reportedly made $2.5 million, as per The Richest.

Basic Instinct 2 (2006)
Later she starred in the 1995 film Casino, which landed her a Best Actress nomination at the 68th Academy Awards and won a Golden Globe for her work in the movie. The accolades and nominations added to her profile. While she was highly underpaid for her work in the 1992 film, she made $13.6 million for starring in the film’s sequel, Basic Instinct 2. However, unlike its predecessor, it failed miserably at the box office and among critics.

Basic Instinct and Basic Instinct 2 are available on Paramount+.

Source: CBC Radio