Sex scenes aren’t always the most comfortable experience when it comes to filming a movie — and Billy Baldwin had one in particular that still haunts him to this day.
“My most embarrassing moment on set was when I did a love scene with Sharon Stone in Sliver and they shot a climactic moment in slow motion,” Baldwin, 62, recalls in his 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me feature in the latest edition of Us Weekly, on newsstands now. “I looked like I was having a seizure. I looked like Jerry Lee Lewis in his most spastic comic moment.”
He continued: “It was like [the cast and crew] were screaming, rolling around on the floor. It was not meant to make people laugh. It was supposed to be, [like], ‘He’s a Baldwin brother. He’s so cute.’ It was very funny and a little embarrassing. Everybody was cracking up.”
Baldwin — whose latest film, No Address, is in theaters now — starred opposite Stone, 67, in the 1993 erotic thriller, which follows the secret lives of tenants in a luxury New York City apartment building.
For more personal stories from Baldwin — including the surprising roles he regrets turning down — keep scrolling:
1. My favorite Baldwin is my sister Jane. My brothers will all know why — she’s a saint.
2. I have a degree in political science from Binghamton University and interned on Capitol Hill.
3. I’ve gone to both the Democratic and Republican conventions since 1988.
4. My favorite song by my wife, Chynna Phillips, is [Wilson Phillips’] “Hold On,” but in her solo career, it’s “I Live for You,” which she wrote about me. It was on the soundtrack of Demi Moore’s film Strip Tease.
Chynna Phillips and actor Billy Baldwin Isaiah Trickey/Getty Images
5. I always take my chair backs from my director’s chairs on set, and I also keep call sheets.
6. It’s in my contract that I can keep my [costume] wardrobe.
7. If I could revisit any past projects, it would be Dirty Sexy Money or Northern Rescue because both of them got shut down when they shouldn’t have gotten shut down. Dirty Sexy Money was a very popular show, and then the economic meltdown of 2008 came and the writer’s strike of 2007 shut us down.
8. My career regrets are turning down Speed and Thelma & Louise. I was offered Speed like five times and I turned it down, which in retrospect, was probably a stupid thing to do. [But] Keanu [Reeves] is so wonderful in everything he does. And I was cast in Thelma & Louise in Brad Pitt’s part, and then they flipped the shooting schedule and it conflicted with Backdraft. So I had to choose between Ron Howard and [Robert] De Niro and Kurt Russell or being the lead in the film. I wanted to do it and then I got booted. God bless Brad — amazing man, amazing life, amazing career.
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9. My ideal day with Chynna is a beach walk, an amazing meal, a stimulating conversation and a little afternoon delight.
10. My dream project is to produce and star in another streaming series or a network show [and] in a film directed by Quentin Tarantino.
11. My family is my most valuable possession. There’s been so many blessings, gifts and gratitude, but we’ve had to deal with a lot of crazy stuff along the way.
12. I wrestled from fourth grade through college and I’m in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
13. I’m a very healthy eater and eat almost all organic food.
14. My secret talent is I do a lot of fundraising. I’m currently raising money for the Los Angeles firefighters, and I’ve raised [over] $60,000 so far.
15. My first car was a ’73 Volkswagen Bus called the Magic Bus. It had a psychedelic paint job and I bought it for $700.
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16. Growing up, I loved Peggy Lipton from The Mod Squad. She came to my 40th birthday party, and [Chynna and I] joked about her being my hall pass, and she got freaked out.
17. My first job was as an undercover security guard when I was 12 years old.
18. I’m not an actor who became an activist; I was an activist who became an actor.
19. My most embarrassing moment on set was when I did a love scene with Sharon Stone in Sliver and they shot a climactic moment in slow motion. I looked like I was having a seizure. I looked like Jerry Lee Lewis in his most spastic comic moment. It was like [the cast and crew] were screaming, rolling around on the floor. It was not meant to make people laugh. It was supposed to be [like], “He’s a Baldwin brother. He’s so cute.” It was very funny and a little embarrassing. Everybody was cracking up.
Sharon Stone and William Baldwin in SLIVER, 1993. Cover Images
20. Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Kurt Russell, Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson are a few of the most famous people in my phone book.
21. My most starstruck moment was when I shook Sylvester Stallone’s hand and said, “Nice to meet you,” and he simultaneously said, “Nice to see you again.” We had talked nonstop for hours at a Planet Hollywood opening, but I was so nervous I blocked it out.
22. The one thing left on my bucket list is [seeing] the New York Knicks winning a championship.
23. I’ve traveled the world many times, and want to go back to Southeast Asia, South America and Africa.
24. The childhood memory that makes me smile is kissing my parents goodnight, which I did every single night from when I was 4 years old until I left for college.
25. I was honored that [Alicia Silverstone‘s character] Cher referred to a good-looking guy as a “Baldwin” in Clueless, but they should have called him a “Billy Baldwin.” Everyone says, “Oh, you all confuse me.” It’s really easy to remember: I’m the tall, thin, handsome, intelligent, successful, super talented one. And the rest are all the rest.
With reporting by Leanne Aciz Stanton
