Gina Gershon has refused to star in a shocking drama in an ‘exploitative’ nudity scene

In Hollywood, Gina Gershon has always trusted her gut.

At the beginning of his career, the actor was offered a role in “Friday the 13th,” which he eventually passed on after finding out that he would be empty handed. Gershon has a new memoir, “AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learn to Love My Boobs,” which chronicles her rise to stardom and the many famous faces she met along the way.

“I was offered the lead in that movie,” Gershon told Fox News Digital. “And, of course, I really enjoyed acting, but it felt exploitative to me and a little silly that right before he was killed, he had to come out on top.”

In the book, Gershon wrote, “Back then, those kinds of slasher movies always had girls dying with their breasts exposed. My character would be killed with a stake through the heart, blood gushing t—. That seemed like paralysis to me: exploitation 101.”

Gershon asked his father for advice.

“Listen, I was really lucky to have a dad who taught me to believe in my decisions,” he told Fox News Digital. “It wasn’t that I should rebel against my family, I remember asking him about it, I think he would say, ‘No daughter of mine will do that!’ He said, ‘It’s your body. If you’re comfortable with it, I’m comfortable with it.’”

“When I sat down and thought about it, I just thought, ‘I really don’t want to do this,'” he said. “I was uncomfortable with it. It seemed silly to me. It’s not that I had anything against nudity – I grew up on European films – but only if it made sense for the character and the story. But if it seemed silly, I don’t know. It just felt like it wasn’t meant for me.”

After talking to his father, Gershon refused.

“My father may have died early, but he taught me many valuable lessons during the 19 years I was with him,” Gershon wrote. Mainly, he taught me to be confident when I make my own decisions.”

“This theme of trusting my gut has always been reflected in my life,” he added.

It’s important advice that has stayed with Gershon over the years, including during his 1995 “Showgirls.” The film, directed by Paul Verhoeven, follows the growth and unfolding of a young dancer’s character. It also starred “Saved by the Bell” star Elizabeth Berkley.

Gershon admitted in the book that he and Verhoeven fought “constantly” over artistic differences involving his character, Crystal Connors.

“I think Paul secretly enjoyed it when we argued about mundane things,” she wrote. “Sometimes I suspected that he was throwing things out to see if he would wake up from me or not, maybe it was annoying that I just rolled over and did what he asked.

“Either way, our battles were exhausting. And let me say this: I loved Paul. A lot! Especially when we weren’t locked in some control game. He’s a very intelligent, very interesting man. A mathematician and a theologian. I really enjoyed our conversations about religion and philosophy.”

Gershon said they were scheduled to shoot the scene that happened in Cristal’s dressing room. This is where he got a surprise.

“I was once again in the hair and makeup trailer, waiting for my crew to change me, when Paul walked in and said without warning, ‘In today’s scene, I think it would be nice if you showed your privates,'” she wrote. “Wow, that came out of the f—king blue.” Just that morning, I made a pact with myself that, no matter what, I would avoid all arguments that day.

“‘Why?’ I asked. And in my honest, cool actor voice, without trying to offend or sound like an idiot, I continued, ‘I mean, why did Cristal do that? I’m open to anything as long as it makes sense. How does it reveal my character? How does it move the story forward?’”

The filmmaker revealed that Berkley will be doing that and that Sharon Stone retook the bad scene in her previous film, “Basic Instinct.”

Gershon wrote that she remained calm, noting that her contract did not require that level of nudity in the role. To avoid tension at the scene, he defused the situation by suggesting an exaggerated alternative. It prompted the director to abandon this idea and continue with the scene as originally written.

She wrote: “I was relieved when Paul slowly got out of my car, looked at me like I was crazy, and said, ‘No, it’s okay, we’re going to do it as written. He didn’t talk about my private part again.”

In response, a spokesperson for Verhoeven told Fox News Digital, “Mr. Verhoeven has not read the memoir, and has no comment.”

“I think the real challenge was that I went into ‘Showgirls’ thinking it was a completely different movie,” Gershon explained to Fox News Digital.

“It was very serious, and I loved the part. It was very active in my mind. Then when I got to the set, I realized that it was a completely different film than what I thought. So I think the biggest challenge was to adapt to what it was and find a way to play it that made sense in the environment.”

Despite widespread attention regarding its NC-17 rating and explicit content, the film underperformed at the box office, People magazine reported. According to the outlet, “Showgirls” grossed less than its $45 million budget and was panned by critics.

But today, it is widely considered an ancient religion.

“‘Showgirls’ has been a very exciting journey,” Gershon told Fox News Digital. “It’s funny to me that when it came out, a lot of journalists jumped at the idea that, ‘This movie is terrible.’ They really tore it up.”

“Thankfully, I got out of it unscathed, but still, it’s not a good feeling,” he thought. “You want the whole movie to do well. And I think it would have done well. I just thought the marketing was stupid, and it was totally inappropriate. [rated] NC-17 to start. This is another discussion.”

“Now, some of those journalists, it’s like the first question they want to talk about. It’s a cult!'” he laughed. “All of a sudden, people who hated it now love it. I’m glad it brought a lot of people hours of entertainment. It really taught me not to pay too much attention to reviews. You can’t listen to critics too much. That was my biggest lesson in that.”

Guided by his instincts, Gershon said his goal has always been to tell good stories.

“I want to do something that I’m proud of or that I’d like to see,” added Gershon.