Sharon Stone has confirmed she gave Leonardo DiCaprio a big break by paying his wages to get him into one of her films.
Sharon Stone gave Leonardo DiCaprio a big break in the early days of his career
The 65-year-old 'Basic Instinct' star appeared opposite DiCaprio in her 1995 Wester 'The Quick and the Dead' and she's now revealed studio bosses weren't interested in hiring the lesser-known actor so she offered to cover his salary to secure him the role.
The revelation was first uncovered in an article by The Hollywood Reporter, and Stone has now admitted it's true. In a post on Instagram, she wrote: "To be clear about the Hollywood Reporter article: Yes, I paid @leonardodicaprio’s salary out of mine."
However, she dismissed speculation she did the same for Russell Crowe but Sharon explained she did get the start date delayed to give the actor time to get to set.
She added: "No I didn’t pay @russellcrowe’s, but I did ask for the film to be delayed two weeks so we could get him here from Australia, and our producer @mikemedavoyup agreed to the delay. And to cover those expenses."
Stone previously revealed she'd fought to keep DiCaprio in the film in her book 'The Beauty of Living Twice', revealing she had high hopes for the 21-year-old actor.
She wrote: "This kid named Leonardo DiCaprio was the only one who nailed the audition, in my opinion: he was the only one who came in and cried, begging his father to love him as he died in the scene."
DiCaprio, 49, was recently asked about being helped out by the actress and he told E! News he will always be grateful to her. He said: "I've thanked her many times. I don't know if I sent her an actual, physical thank-you gift, but I cannot thank her enough... it's incredible. She's been a huge champion of cinema and giving other actors opportunities, so I'm very thankful."
Tagged in Leonardo DiCaprio Sharon Stone Russell Crowe