The role Sharon Stone only played for the money: “I really needed a job”
There was a time when Sharon Stone had the world at her feet. Following her breakthrough role as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s scheming wife in Total Recall, she appeared in some seriously big movies across the 1990s. There was her Oscar-nominated turn in Goodfellas, her appearance in The Specialist opposite Sylvester Stallone, and, of course, her, um, ‘revealing’ performance in Basic Instinct. Sadly, with every boom, there must be a bust.
As she outlines in most of her interviews these days, Stone fell out of favour with Hollywood, or perhaps it was the other way around. She traces a lot of her troubles back to the fallout of The Quick and the Dead, a western she produced alongside director Sam Raimi, whom she has accused of disloyalty. Whatever the reason, she found herself in a similar position to before her big break, needing to take jobs simply to get paid.
In an interview with Playboy, the ’90s sex symbol was asked about some of the films she was in before Total Recall changed her life forever. One of them was Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, one of the many, many instalments in the seemingly infinite cop comedy series. When asked why she got involved with the franchise, she gave a simple answer.
“I really needed a job, and I really needed a break,” she said before clarifying that she wanted to do something that would distract from her everyday life.
“Police Academy 4 changed me tremendously – for the good, really for the good,” she continued. “I worked with 12 stand-up comedians every day. Not actors, but stand-up comedians. You’ve no idea what a joy it is to go into a room and hang out with those people—the brilliance and the politically astute, fun, intellectual, strange, inspirational conversations you’ll have with them.”
The fourth entry in the franchise was the last to feature original lead actor Steve Guttenberg before he left the series. Alongside him, Stone was also joined by Bobcat Goldthwait, former SNL cast member Tim Kazurinsky, and a young David Spade. Tony Hawk has a small cameo as one of a group of skaters 12 years before he completed his famous ‘900’ trick. Stone plays a minor character called Claire, a journalist who is a love interest for Guttenberg’s Sgt Carey Mahoney. She was going through a separation from her first husband at the time, which might explain why she was keen to spend all day around people who could make her laugh.
Police Academy 4 was released in 1987, three years before Total Recall hit screens. Stone was already making something of a name for herself at this point. She had starred in two movies with Richard Chamberlain inspired by the H. Ryder Haggard story King Solomon’s Mines. In 1988, she appeared in the Carl Weathers-led action spoof Action Jackson. It was torn to pieces by critics but turned a decent profit at the box office. Keen observers of Hollywood at the time could have probably predicted that Stone would do well for herself, but very few people expected her to reach the heights that she did.
Everybody has to start somewhere. While most actors look back on their early careers with a hint of embarrassment, Stone has been able to contextualise her experiences and appreciate them for what they are.
