Sharon Stone has turned a memorable movie moment into a blunt verdict: robert de niro was, in her words, “the best kisser in the business. ” That line is more than celebrity color. It places a 1995 scene from Casino at the center of a larger truth about performance, trust, and how a single take can define the way audiences remember an entire film.
What is not being told about the kiss?
Verified fact: During a recent interview on SiriusXM’s “Radio Andy, ” Stone said the kiss in Casino “really just knocked me out. ” She said the scene involved her character, a hustler, asking for money to use the bathroom, and then leaning in to kiss De Niro after he handed over the cash. She also said the director, Martin Scorsese, called “Cut” and told the pair they had the shot, but could do it again if they wanted.
Informed analysis: The significance of that memory is not the kiss alone. Stone framed it as a moment where admiration, character work, and on-screen chemistry all converged. She said De Niro was “the actor that I admired the most, ” and that she wanted only to “hold my own” while acting opposite him. That detail matters because it suggests the scene stayed with her not as a publicity anecdote, but as a professional benchmark.
Why does Robert De Niro still matter in this story?
Verified fact: Stone repeated that robert de niro was “the best kisser in the business, ” and she made clear this was not a one-time compliment. She had said in a prior television appearance in September 2020 that he was “far and away the best kisser. ” In the newer interview, she went further, saying she was “madly in love with him as an actress to start with, ” and that nothing else compared to that experience. She also recalled thinking that even if he had hit her in the head with a hammer, she would still have reacted the same way.
Informed analysis: That language is revealing because it shifts the story away from gossip and toward artistic hierarchy. Stone is not describing a random romantic spark; she is identifying De Niro as the performer against whom she measured her own ability in the scene. In that sense, the compliment becomes a statement about status on a set where she was working opposite an actor she deeply respected.
How much of the reaction comes from Casino itself?
Verified fact: Stone and De Niro starred together in the 1995 film Casino. In the movie, Stone played a former hustler and wife of mob enforcer Nicky Santoro, played by Joe Pesci, while De Niro played Sam “Ace” Rothstein, the head of the Tangiers Casino. Stone’s performance earned her a Golden Globe Award win and an Academy Award nomination.
Informed analysis: The lasting force of the kiss is tied to the broader weight of the film and Stone’s role in it. Her comments show that the scene was not memorable only because it was intimate, but because it sat inside a performance she considered professionally important. The fact that she still speaks about it in superlatives decades later suggests the moment remains a reference point for how she views her own work.
Who benefits from this renewed attention?
Verified fact: Stone’s recent remarks arrived while she was walking the carpet at the Golden Globe Awards, where she told News Digital, “you get to choose how you view the world. ” She is also preparing to appear in the third season of Euphoria, where she will play a showrunner. During an appearance on “Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, ” she discussed joining a cast of younger stars.
Informed analysis: The immediate beneficiary is the story itself. Stone’s comments revive interest in Casino, elevate De Niro’s legacy in her telling, and place her own career back in the center of a high-recognition narrative. But the deeper effect is reputational: she positions herself as an actor who can still speak with authority about craft, chemistry, and the rare scenes that do not fade with time.
Accountability question: The real issue is not whether the kiss was flattering. It is why certain performances endure. Stone’s repeated praise of robert de niro points to a simple conclusion: when respect, precision, and timing align, a brief scene can outlast the film press cycle, the awards season, and even the decade in which it was made.
