Sharon Stone, 62, talks exploring her 'dark side' for Basic Instinct and shares her sexual harassment experience: 'The director wanted me to sit on his lap'

Sharon Stone is one of Hollywood's most enduring and versatile sex symbols as she has managed to navigate her way from bombshell status in 1992's Basic Instinct to a bewitching role in the new Netflix series Ratched. 

And the 62-year-old was happy to talk about her alluring public image with the October cover of Town & Country magazine.

In the wide-ranging interview, the former model talks about how she is still asked to take her clothes off, how she feels for what Marilyn Monroe went through and that time when a director sexually harassed her by insisting she sit on his lap.

Still on top: Sharon Stone discussed being a sex symbol in Town & Country, from still being asked to show off her body at 62 to being sexually harassed at the height of her career

Stone did not offer too many details about her sexual harassment story with the unnamed director - who denied the story to the publication - but she did convey the tension well. 

'He’d tell me that I should sit on his lap to get direction for the scene,' said Stone.

'And when I told him that I was not going to sit on his lap, he would send me back to the trailer. And that is just the way it was.'

The incident took place when she was 'at the height of her earning power,' the magazine explained. Stone reportedly made her most money for Basic Instinct 2 in 2006 with over $13M.

An icon: When playing cunning author Catherine Trammel in 1992's Basic Instinct, Sharon showed off a cold, calculated sexuality

She feels for her: These days Stone looks at the frustrations Marilyn Monroe faced with her career; seen in 1960 for the film Let's Make Love

Her sex symbol image still lingers, which surprises the veteran.

'People still want to see my boobs. I’m 62! It’s like, "Really? Grow up!" But also, "Here’s some boobs!"' she said with a theatrical gesture.

As far as how she came to fame in the early Nineties, she says the public wanted a pinup.

'People, I guess, really needed a sex symbol,' said the Pennsylvania native.

She had to deal with a lot of craziness: The star said she was sexually harassed on set by a director. It took place at the height of her success; seen here in Basic Instinct 2 in 2006 with David Morrissey

'I mean, I never thought I was that sexy... When I did Basic Instinct, I explored my dark side and made friends with my dark side. I got to not be afraid of my own self. I think people find that sexy.'

But having people expect her to be a sex symbol all the time is taxing. 

'It was very difficult for Marilyn Monroe. She did movies that really mattered, like Bus Stop, The Misfits, but she still couldn’t get completely out of being that thing. It’s very hard to shake,' said the mother of three.

Still hot stuff: Her sex symbol image still lingers, which surprises the veteran. 'People still want to see my boobs. I’m 62! It’s like, "Really? Grow up!" But also, "Here’s some boobs!"' she said with a theatrical gesture

There was also a time when Sharon was hardly employed because of the old Hollywood rules that still apply.

'You don’t really get work between 40 and 60. It doesn’t matter if you’re at the height of your career, whether you just made Casino. That’s it: no work,' said the movie queen. 

Casino came out in 1995. 

And now Stone is not letting being 62 get in her way of landing jobs.

'I think you have to choose how you want to age. People look at me as a certain thing, and it gets in the way of them casting me as things I could play,' she said.

'But I’m sure that I have my own destiny, and I’m now trying to meet it with as much integrity as I can, and be as open to growth as I can be.'

A fabulous character: Playing Lenore Osgood in Ratched has been a thrill for her. 'She’s completely insane,' says Stone with a sly smile. 'And at the same time she thinks she’s really a loving mother who has her sh*t together'

A criminal: To help with her role, Sharon thought out the character's back story. 'I thought she was probably Doris Duke’s best friend—she was a showgirl who married some rich guy and knocked him off,' she said

Playing Lenore Osgood in Ratched has been a thrill for her. 'She’s completely insane,' says Stone with a sly smile. 'And at the same time she thinks she’s really a loving mother who has her sh*t together.'

Stone has something very big to look forward to in 2021: she is releasing her memoir The Beauty Of Living Twice

To help with her role, Sharon thought out the character's back story. 

'I thought she was probably Doris Duke’s best friend—she was a showgirl who married some rich guy and knocked him off,' she said.

'She would try to be fancy, because the more fabulous she was the less people would know that she came from nowhere and was a complete criminal.' 

Also in the interview, Sharon talked money.

She said she made less than $500,000 for her role in Basic Instinct and co-star Michael Douglas made much more; some reports say as much as $15M.

And even when her star rose, she had to fight to get a good paycheck.

'When I was a global phenomenon and I wanted to make $2 million for a , it was like I wanted them to give me the moon, like I’d lost all reason,' said the Sliver star.

'When I wanted four, they were like, "We’re not going to pay you $4 million for this movie."' 

Stone has something very big to look forward to in 2021: she is releasing her memoir The Beauty Of Living Twice as she discusses not just her career and marriages but also her near-death experience in 2001.