Sharon Stone Reveals the Iconic Role She ‘Really Wanted’ but Didn’t Get

Sharon Stone is an Oscar-nominated actor with plenty of amazing performances under her belt, but there was one role that she missed out on.

Stone revealed on the August 17 episode of “Watch What Happens Live” that she went out for Annette Bening’s part in the 1999 film “American Beauty” but she didn’t get it. When asked by an audience member to name a famous role that she didn’t get, Stone initially joked, “Well, I hope you have a lot of time. Oh, so many.”

She then admitted, “I really would have liked to have been in that movie with Kevin Spacey that Annette Bening got the part,” referring to “American Beauty.” She went on to say, “Yeah, I wanted that movie, I really wanted that movie.”

It turned out Stone’s instincts about the film were spot-on as it won Best Picture at the 2000 Oscars, and Bening was nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of suburban housewife on the edge Carolyn Burnham.

Stone & Her Peers Vied for the Same Parts

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According to Stone, there were “lots and lots and lots” of other roles she’d wanted as well but missed out on. Host Andy Cohen asked if there specific actors that she often found herself up against and Stone answered, “Oh, millions and millions and millions of times.”

Without naming names, Stone joked, “It got to the point where I thought, ‘I hope they die. I am never gonna work unless that actress dies.'”

She recalled thinking, “‘I just cannot get a job … why do they like her and they don’t like me ever?'”

In December of 2024, Stone was asked by the BBC about roles she didn’t get and her response was a little more diplomatic. “I am so sure that when there’s a no, it’s because there’s a yes somewhere else,” she shared.

Stone Felt She Was ‘Punished’ for Her Performance in ‘Basic Instinct’

Stone, who currently stars alongside Bob Odenkirk in “Nobody 2,” shot to fame with her role in the 1992 film “Basic Instinct.” The movie includes Stone in a brief but much-talked about nude scene, which she received backlash for. The film was also criticized for its portrayal of LGBTQ themes and violence.

But Stone, who played a bisexual killer in the film, used the attention it got to raise money for a good cause. In 2003, the actor participated in a charity event where she auctioned off a kiss to the highest bidder. According to the Guinness World Records, it ended up being the most expensive kiss ever won at an auction.

“I got both a man and a woman bidding to buy a kiss, and I got them bidding against each other,” Stone told the BBC. “I got made into an idea of something and I sold it … to raise money for AIDS research.”

She continued, “I’m really proud that I took this idea … that I was really sexy and used it to fight a disease where people were getting punished for their sexuality. Because I was getting punished for mine.”