IN CONVERSATION WITH SHARON STONE
interview by JANA LETONJA
Numéro Netherlands presents one of our latest 11th issue cover star — actress, producer, and New York Times bestselling author SHARON STONE, known for her roles in BASIC INSTINCT and CASINO. STONE’s humanitarian efforts have been honoured with a Nobel Peace Summit Award, a Harvard Humanitarian Award, a Human Rights Campaign Humanitarian Award and an Einstein Spirit of Achievement Award, among other accolades. In the past few years, she has become a prolific artist through her paintings.
Many fans know you from your earlier roles. How did BASIC INSTINCT and CASINO impact your career and your life?
30 years ago, BASIC INSTINCT made me super famous, and CASINO gave me the opportunity to work with the best director ever. I always wanted to work with DE NIRO and PESCI, and I had just come off another movie with JIMMY WOODS, so we had a fabulous time working together. And it started this relationship with MARTIN SCORCESE that is just amazing. I went on to do another documentary about BOB DYLAN with SCORCESE, which was really fun and lovely. I mean, BASIC INSTINCT and CASINO are these wonderful markers in my career. I got to do all these kinds of different characters and big movies. And when you get to do these big movies, they give you an opportunity to do character work, which is what actors really want to do.
suit & boots ZADIG & VOLTAIRE
shirt PRADA
glasses LENSCRAFTERS
necklace LE COLONNE TAOMINA
You were primarily playing the femme fatale and women of mystery. How do you see your development as an actress and an artist since your first role until today?
That’s an interesting question. After CASINO, when I would’ve thought that the opportunities for development would arrive, they didn’t. I didn’t get offered theatre and now I have people who are starting to talk to me about good theatre. People are starting to communicate with me about parts that actually make some sense, both in television and theatre and film. It’s starting only now, some concept of development of real work for me. I think there has to be an honest recognition that there just wasn’t really anything for me to do, and no one offered me anything. And the couple of things I did get offered, were like FLIGHT ATTENDANT, which was a small piece, but it was wonderful. But honestly, there were only two things that were interesting. If it’s interesting, I do it. I’m going to go do this thing with BOB ODENKIRK now, NOBODY 2, but I’m doing it because I like him. I’m doing it because they’re in the JOHN WICK franchise and I like this action franchise. I genuinely think that there isn’t action for women, there just isn’t anything for women. I want to see women playing badass action figures. And if there is one, I’ll play it because I never see it.
In the past few years, we’ve seen you become an artist. How did you develop a passion for painting and what inspires your work?
Many things inspired me. My first show was called SHEDDING. It was about getting so much stuff off of me. Then I think the work was about discussing my past, reconciling some things in my past. Then I did a show called TOTEM. It was about totemic markers of impactful experiences in my life. But now I’m painting about reconciling some beasts within me. I’m coming to terms with the wildness of myself. I’m putting my wildness on the canvas.
Sharon
t-shirt RALPH LAUREN
suit GIORGIO ARMANI
Jarrod
top SAINT LAURENT
jeans DSQUARED2
left
Sharon
suit GIORGIO ARMANI
t-shirt RALPH LAUREN
glasses LENSCRAFTERS
Jarrod
top SAINT LAURENT
jeans DSQUARED2
bag ZADIG & VOLTAIRE
right
Jerad
full look COS
How do you approach each new painting, and how would you describe your artistic style?
Right now, I’m going back to disaster paintings and I’m resurrecting them. I’m looking at it the way I’m looking at what’s happening to our country. The disasters, like this confusion, confused paintings. I couldn’t understand things I couldn’t deal with. I put things on the canvas that didn’t work because I think that’s what’s been happening in our country and in our environment and in the world. Now I’m reconciling these paintings. They’re really beautiful and they’re becoming a show now. It’s my brat exhibition, as my friend calls it, because I am throwing my authenticity and myself into these damaged, broken paintings, and I’m making them beautiful. I’m calling it BEAUTY AND HER BEASTS.
Being named the femme fatale, what defines a femme fatale today in your opinion?
I haven’t thought about that phrase in so long because I don’t think it’s a healthy concept any more. I think now we have to be the women of life, not the women of death. I don’t think that’s the sexy concept any more. Even though I’m playing an anti-hero in this film I’m going into, I think she has to kill the negative impulses because it’s time for a matriarchy. I feel like women aren’t meant to be killers. Women have to be women only. There’s only aggression to the point of neutrality that is the appropriate femme fatale now.
suit & shirt ANTONIO MARRAS
shoe DOLCE & GABBANA
sunglasses RAY BAN for LENSCRAFTERS
How did you deal with being one of the most popular sex symbols of the ’90s? What pressures did that put on you as a young woman?
It didn’t allow me to have normal relationships. Normal romance, normal dating, normal marriage, normal judgment from people. People didn’t see me as a person. They saw the part I played and I played that part for three months. I left that movie and went and did THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, and then I left that movie and went and I did another one. I did all these movies back to back, I never went home. For years, I was home maybe three days, then two weeks, then maybe six days, then nine days. I didn’t have a regular life. So, while other people were having all these reactions to me about BASIC INSTINCT, I was shooting THE SPECIALIST. I had to bring in security because STALLONE and I couldn’t get in and out of buildings because we were so famous.
It’s not like today where TAYLOR SWIFT can go to Wimbledon because people see her all the time because of their cell phones. People didn’t see me all the time, so I couldn’t go out anywhere. It just became too scary for me. If I went outside, hundreds if not thousands of people were chasing me down the street. It wasn’t safe for me to drive, it wasn’t safe for me to go for a walk. I became agoraphobic because it was the only logical thing to do, not to be just smashed to the ground by the intensity of the throngs of people. My life was very different from people’s lives now, and so I became a person who didn’t and still doesn’t really go outside a lot because it became my habit that now habituated to be a person who doesn’t go out very much.
And then, of course, I wasn’t paid even remotely near to what men were paid. They were paid bizarrely different amounts of money than I was paid. I never made even close to what they did, even if I was the star of the movie. When I stopped being in the business, because I turned 40 – the big crime that women [actors] weren't allowed to do then – I made even less. Because I didn’t get paid in my time, means that I don’t get paid even now. I missed the window of all the things that I got to fight for. And I’m proud that I got to fight for them, and that’s why I’m still fighting for them now, because I don’t want all the young ladies that have all their rights to lose them.
Sharon
pant & shirt TOM FORD
flower on pant ANTONIO MARRAS
shoe TOD’S
necklace LE COLONNE TAOMINA
Jarrod
suit ANTONIO MARRAS
shoe SANTONI
Your humanitarian efforts have been honoured with a Nobel Peace Summit Award. What does humanitarian work represent to you, and why is it such an important part of your life?
I think that everybody should have free healthcare, food, a roof over their head and education. And I think that everybody’s human rights should be equal. Man, woman, child, no matter what colour you are, no matter what gender you are, you should have gender-affirming care. And it shouldn’t matter your sexuality or your sexual preferences. None of that is anybody’s business. People should just leave each other alone and let people be who they are and live their life. Everybody should just respect each other and treat each other normally. And everybody should have the same exact number of rights as each other, and the rights should be liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Is there anything you could share with us about your upcoming projects? What are you excited about?
My 24-year-old son is an actor, and he’s been auditioning for a ton of stuff – it’s very exciting. And of course, we hope that we’re going to work on something together at some point. He is so talented and devoted [to his craft]. Now, all the auditions are done by video, so I’ve become his videographer. That’s become another joyful aspect of my life because he’s probably done 50 auditions and the average is like 65 to 80 before you get your first job.
My other two kids are away at school; one’s at boarding school and one’s at college. I’m in this transitional period where all my kids are studying the things that they’re enjoying. A very exciting time as a mom. My second son is a biology major and wants to be a doctor, and my third son is writing and he’s maybe going to write and direct. We will see.
TEAM CREDITS:
talent SHARON STONE
talent JARROD BROWNING
photography FERNANDO SIPPEL
styling PARIS LIBBY
hair & makeup MAX ROMAN
retouching MARIO ERNUN
editor TIMI LETONJA
interview JANA LETONJA
cover design ARTHUR ROELOFFZEN
