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What makes a man sweat more, a dinosaur or Sharon Stone?

If you’re Wayne Knight, it doesn’t make a difference.

It’s hard to talk about the movie Basic Instinct without mentioning the iconic Sharon Stone interrogation scene. However, while most moviegoers were looking at Stone and her famous leg cross, Steven Spielberg had his eyes on Wayne Knight, who was playing District Attorney John Correli. Seeing Knight’s nervous energy, Spielberg knew he would be a perfect dinosaur victim.

“I never auditioned for [Jurassic Park], and I may have been the first person cast,” Knight says during a panel at GalaxyCon Raleigh 2025. “Steven [Spielberg] saw Basic Instinct, saw me sweating profusely with a camera tight on my face, looking at something that was apparently awesome. Or frightening. We’re not sure. From that, he went, ‘Yes, this is a fat person who is about to explode. I’m casting him.’”

I’ve never heard of an actor getting a role based on how much they sweat, but after seeing Jurassic Park, you can’t argue with the results.

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