Sharon Stone’s Cult Classic Western Was a Massive Risk That Changed 3 Careers Forever

When The Quick and the Dead was released in 1995, it wasn’t a critical darling or box office success. Roger Ebert gave it just two stars in his written review, and it made a dismal $18.6 million worldwide at cinemas on a $32 million budget. Today, however, the Sam Raimi-directed film is remembered fondly as a mid-90s cult classic, thanks in part to its thrilling Western story of revenge, alongside its stellar cast, which included Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Russell Crowe. At the time, though, only Stone and Hackman were big names. In fact, in her role as a producer, Stone had to fight for Raimi, DiCaprio, and Crowe. Without her efforts, The Quick and the Dead wouldn’t have existed, and three actors’ careers may never have been.

Why Sam Raimi Was Considered a ‘D-List’ Director in 1995

In The Quick and the Dead, Sharon Stone plays “The Lady” Ellen McKenzie, a woman out for revenge on the man who killed her father, a mayor named John Herod (Hackman). Stone was the lead of the film and also a producer. Because of her power, she was able to fight TriStar Pictures and get her way on what she wanted.

First up was the director. Stone had eyes on Sam Raimi, who was most well known at the time for the Evil Dead trilogy and Darkman. In her 2021 memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, Stone wrote that TriStar saw Raimi as a “D-movie director.” However, the actor-producer believed in Raimi so much that she told them Raimi “would work nearly for free as an enticement.” This got the studio’s attention, and he was hired.

After The Quick and the Dead, Raimi’s mainstream directing career took off with A Simple Plan, The Gift, the Spider-Man trilogy and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Without Stone’s belief in him, those movies would likely have happened.

Russell Crowe’s First American Movie Almost Didn’t Happen

In The Quick and the Dead, Russell Crowe plays Cort, a gunfighter turned preacher who is pulled into Mayor Herod’s dueling tournament. For most American audiences, this was the first time they’d seen the then 31-year-old actor, who was born in New Zealand. For years, he was doing Australian movies, but then Sharon Stone entered his life.

In a 2020 interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers (via People), Crowe spoke about struggling for 18 months to get hired for a movie in the United States. It finally happened with The Quick and the Dead, with Crowe revealing, “I only got it because Sharon Stone had seen a movie I was in.” Cort plays Ellen’s love interest, and Stone was determined to hire who she wanted to play the pivotal role opposite her. Crowe added, “If it wasn’t for her strength of commitment, I don’t know how long it might have been before I got an American movie. I’ve got a lot to thank her for.”

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“Beware the incubus!”

Oh, does he ever, because two years after The Quick and the Dead came L.A. Confidential, followed by Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind soon after, with the former earning him an Academy Award for Best Actor. Without Stone’s involvement, Crowe may still have made it to American films eventually, but the timing would have meant that some of his biggest roles would have never happened.

Sharon Stone Paid Leonardo DiCaprio Herself to Cast Him

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

Lastly, there’s Leonardo DiCaprio. In 1995, he was 21, but still had the babyface of a child. He’d already had parts in Critters 3, This Boy’s Life, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, with the last two earning him some prestige for his acting ability in a supporting role. That wasn’t enough for TriStar. Sure, DiCaprio could act, but he wasn’t a big-name star just yet.

Stone wrote in her memoir, “‘Why an unknown, Sharon, why are you always shooting yourself in the foot?’ The studio said if I wanted him so much, I could pay him out of my own salary. So I did.” Stone, an A-list actor, at the peak of her fame, could have worked with anyone. Instead, she chose the smaller name and trusted his ability so much that she was willing to invest her own money. After the book came out, DiCaprio told E! News, “I cannot thank her enough.” Mentioning Crowe as well, he added, “It’s incredible. She’s been a huge champion of cinema and giving other actors opportunities, so I’m very thankful.”

In her memoir, Stone recalled how DiCaprio nailed his audition by being the only actor who cried in his scene. She saw something in him. Soon, everyone would. A year later, he starred in Romeo + Juliet. A year after that, he was in some movie called Titanic and on his way to becoming one of the most recognized celebrities on the planet. Because of her courage to stand up to TriStar, three highly successful careers and one great movie exist today.