Sharon Stone feels protective over Austin Butler after meeting at Elvis premiere (Picture: Marc Piasecki/FilmMagic)
Movie icon Sharon Stone is keeping an eye out for newcomer Austin Butler after relating to his ‘journey and destiny’.
She’s revealed they shared a ‘special connection’ after his meteoric rise to fame thanks to the success of his starring role in 2022’s Elvis biopic.
The 66-year-old legend saw her own early stardom reflected in that of the 32-year-old actor and felt the urge to protect him in the industry.
Austin revealed she had sat in front of him at the Cannes premiere of the Baz Luhrmann movie and it had allowed the two to bond.
‘We have a really special connection,’ he told Entertainment Tonight.
‘I’ve been in a lot of premieres, I’ve been a lot of premieres in Cannes, and this is the only time I saw what happened to me happen to someone else,’ Sharon added.
She’s determined to help Austin navigate early days of fame (Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Sharon said it was ‘incredible’ to witness someone in the same position as her (Picture: Emma McIntyre/WireImage)
The Total Recall star continued: ‘It was so incredible to witness this happen to another person, and I just wanted to make sure that he had someone that he knew he could count on no matter what because it’s not easy to hold onto the rocket.’
Austin has gone on to star in supporting roles in Dune Part 2 and The Bikeriders with a leading role in the upcoming Apple series Masters of the Air.
Sharon is determined to make sure the rising star has the right support, asserting that she has a lot of faith in him as a performer.
She affectionately added that she really ‘loves that kid’ and believes in him, stating she knows ‘what his journey and destiny looks like’.
After Basic Instinct was released she shot to fame (Picture: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
Ever since their first meeting at the esteemed film festival two years ago the pair have kept in touch with the Basic Instinct star checking in on him.
She explained: ‘Well, when this thing happens to you, it’s a very specific thing and it’s a light that comes on in you and others see it and people appreciate it.
‘At the same time, people envy it and they can become very cruel about it and it’s a hard thing to walk with grace and it’s really important that you walk it with honesty and sincerity.’
Sharon’s relationship with fame has not been an easy one with the star receiving backlash over her recent support of Kevin Spacey.
Along with some other stars, the actress said he was a ‘genius’ and ‘elegant’ and appealed for him to return to the public eye after his assault allegations.
Ever since Cannes 2022 she has kept in touch with Austin (Picture: CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images)
Austin said they had a ‘special connection’ (Picture: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)
On the flip side, she was praised in May for putting Good Morning Britain host Ed Balls ‘in his place’ after he probed about her claims a producer advised her to have sex with her co-star.
Previously, Sharon has alleged that while working on 1993’s Sliver the producer Robert Evans, who died in 2019, had suggested she sleep with William ‘Billy’ Baldwin to improve his performance.
In response to the former Labour politician, 57, inquiring how she now felt about Evans’ comments, she replied that she felt ‘set up’ and asked for a new question.
Speaking to InStyle earlier this year, she revealed people thought she was ‘arrogant and dismissive’ when putting boundaries in place over appearances.
After almost five decades in the industry, Sharon is hoping to protect Austin and other young actors from the same complex fate.
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