Sharon Stone Reveals Dark Side of Being a Sex Symbol After ‘Basic Instinct’

Sharon Stone is opening up about the realities of being an overnight sex symbol.

During Stone's recent sit-down with CNN's Chris Wallace, the television host pointed out that the actress's interrogation scene in 1992's Basic Instinct put her on the map as a sex symbol. In the film, Stone portrayed Catherine Tramell, a serial killer and love interest of Detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas). She reprised the role in Basic Instinct 2, which was released in 2006.

"My acting teacher Roy London said to me, 'This is an action movie. And this scene stops all the action,'" Stone recalled. "He said, 'So every single moment in that scene has to be very specific. You have to be super present and on the moment.'"

She noted, "I think that that is the key to acting, it's the key to living, it's the key to everything, is to be super present in the moment. I did not know that my being super present in that moment would change the dynamic of my life forever."

Stone's performance garnered her a Golden Globe nod for best actress in a motion picture drama in 1993.

It also turned her into a sex symbol nearly overnight.

"I didn't know that on Friday when that movie came out, that I would be basically a nobody. And on Tuesday I would get my eyeglasses fixed up at Sunset Plaza and I would come out in my little 325 BMW and I would stop at the stoplight and everybody would climb all over my car," she said. "And then the light would turn green, and cars would start beeping and I wouldn't know 'Is it legal to drive when people are all over the top of your car?'"

Wallace, in disbelief, pressed her for more details about that disturbing period.

"I'm in my car on Sunset Boulevard and they're all over the hood and they're all over the windshield and people are blowing their horns. I'm thinking 'If I drive and I get hurt, do I get arrested? Is it a crime if you drive when people are on your car? I'm inside thinking, do I drive? Not drive? What's the law of people all over your car?'"

She ended by joking, "Don't get on my car 'cause I don't know what to do."