Sharon Stone for Vogue Adria on Nobody 2, the brutality of the modern world, and roles that spark conversation

When Nobody came out in 2021, written by Derek Kolstad — the mind behind all three John Wick films — it was a bloody, masterfully directed revenge story starring one of the most undervalued and hardest-working people in show business, Bob Odenkirk. Still, its vision of survival through vengeance was rigidly gendered by today’s standards: a man in the clichéd role of protector defending his family by applying the principle of violence against violence. Even then, the stage was set for a strong, authoritative female character to step into this comedic yet utterly dangerous framework. A villain, but not a stereotypical one, someone you might recognize from your own reality, or even a virtual one. She changes the rules, commands submission, and in all her extremity manages to both unsettle and entertain you at the same time. I can’t think of anyone who could play this role more convincingly than Sharon Stone, Vogue Adria’s very own goddess, but she hasn’t accepted roles by the book in a long time. “I only play villains when I feel that the character somehow connects to the Zeitgeist of what’s happening in the universe at the time I’m playing it, and that it will do more than just entertain. I do it when I believe it will spark conversation — and that through that conversation, something greater than just entertainment might emerge” she tells me just before the premiere of Nobody 2.

For Sharon, fame has always been a mirror that never showed the whole truth. Big roles brought her huge popularity, but also a heavy burden, like the iconic femme fatale Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct. That’s why the time has come to play by her own rules.

When Universal Pictures approached her to star in the sequel to the brutal thriller Nobody, Sharon was skeptical. Just like she did back in 1992, she started tuning into the spirit of the present moment, something we can not only relate to but also deeply question so that it becomes a collective experience. She came to the studio with the idea of a character embodying the cruel patterns of behavior we see online, but also in the world around us. “This character was written after discussions about what is a modern and current villain, something that blends into the Zeitgeist of now. This is a second film, different from the first in that we are at a different point in the world. In the first film, the Russian character is the villain. We are no longer at a moment in time when we think evil has a geographically defined source — we look within. We examine our own cruelty, and the fact that it is now on vulgar display. That display, that cruelty, has become something out of control — like a rabid animal. This very traumatic current reality is something we all chose to explore and draw upon for the character of Lendina. Then the writers took it away and wrote this great, fun, wildly entertaining character which I had the joy of playing.”

The result is the ruthless and delightfully unpredictable Lendine, a mafia boss who brings even more chaos into the life of the main character, Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk), who comes on vacation with his family but once again finds himself caught in brutal clashes. Breaking away from traditional female roles, playing with stereotypes, and moving with ease in a male-dominated world come almost naturally to Sharon. “I think what we see in film as traditional, and what is traditional in reality, are two very different things. Perhaps we are only seeing women more as they truly are, as we did when filmmaking began.” I tell her there is a certain paradox in a woman being both underestimated and feared, but Sharon sees it as something Buddhists call a koan, an unsolvable riddle in which the question and the answer are actually one and the same.

Bob Odenkirk is known for his precise, almost chess-like acting. From Mr. Show and Better Call Saul to Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, in his fifties he transformed from a supporting actor into an Emmy nominee for Best Lead Actor. He has authority but also a versatility that goes beyond mere physical strength in action films. What was it like working with him? “I always enjoy brilliance, and Bob has that in spades. He is very gifted as a writer and as an actor. His understanding of timing is spectacular and his set decorum is top-notch. Therefore, when he makes a suggestion or delivers an idea it comes with almost mathematical precision and requires no retort, but action.” Bob has expressed a desire for Nobody to be a trilogy in which his character ends up with nothing. If that vision came to life, would there be room for Lendine in the third part? “If there is any room to continue with this fine group of actors, producers, and filmmakers, however, I, for one, would be all in. I enjoyed every moment of making this picture—even, and especially, my first day when we had a tornado. I’d never witnessed one before—it was magnificent! The energy of the film was set by that, and I think we carried it through.”

Finally, as someone who represents much more than a movie diva, Sharon leaves me with an important lesson: that we should not reinvent ourselves over and over, but rather grow continuously. “I do not reinvent myself. I am the same person who is continually growing and developing throughout the life that I am meeting. When one stays present throughout their life, that does not mean that we reinvent ourselves; it means that we are present. These are two very different considerations.”

Photo: Branislav Simoncik
Creative direction: Paris Libby