Sharon Stone Shares the On-Set Moment with Robert De Niro That Left Her Fuming During ‘Casino’ Filming

Sharon Stone is looking back on her time filming the classic 1995 movie Casino, and she had a lot to say about her co-stars Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. In a conversation with Business Insider, she shared stories from the set and revealed one moment with De Niro that really got under her skin.

Stone said her friendship with Joe Pesci goes way back. “Joey really, really fought for me to be seen and get the job. So I have a serious loyalty to Joey because he’s always backed me,” she said. She also mentioned James Caan as someone who had her back early in her career. “It was always Joey and Jimmy Caan. They backed me since I was 19.”

As for De Niro, Stone said she had been hoping to work with him for years but didn’t get the chance until Casino. “I had auditioned with him many times before Casino. It was my dream to work with De Niro and hold my own,” she explained. In the film, directed by Martin Scorsese, she played Ginger McKenna, a glamorous hustler who becomes the love interest of De Niro’s character, Sam “Ace” Rothstein.

Stone recalled one scene that gave her the chance to prove herself. “There’s a scene in the movie where we’re sitting across a table arguing, and he says to me, ‘You’re a good actress, you know that?'” she said. “And I remember in that scene when he said it, how furious it made me because it was my dream to do it, and then he challenged me at the table.”

She admitted she took the comment personally. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh, buddy. Not today, pal,'” she said. “He knew every button to go for with me because he is the greatest observational actor. He can crawl under your skin and get in there.”

Her performance in Casino was a standout. It earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress and an Academy Award nomination. The movie itself was a hit, telling the story of power, greed, and betrayal in the world of Las Vegas casinos, inspired by real-life figures like Frank Rosenthal, Anthony Spilotro, and Geri McGee.

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