See Aubrey Plaza As Cinema’s Sexiest Killer

In a Saturday Night Live promo shoot, Aubrey Plaza posed as Sharon Stone's character from Basic Instinct.

By Jessica Scott | Updated

aubrey plaza

Aubrey Plaza’s recent hosting gig on Saturday Night Live gave us some great sketches to talk about over the water cooler on Monday (or in Zoom calls, I guess). From The Black Lotus, about a hotel run by an all-black staff who have no time for their rich guests’ “nonsense” to Plaza reprising her role as April Ludgate from Parks and Rec in the Weekend Update segment, it was a good time all around.

And the gift just keeps on giving: on Instagram, you can also see a photo bumper from the show in which she is dressed as Basic Instinct’s serial killer Catherine Tramell, so famously played by Sharon Stone.

In the picture, Aubrey Plaza’s blonde hair is slicked back just like Sharon Stone’s as she crosses her long, muscular legs while sitting in an office chair in a tiny white dress. She completes the look with red spike heels and red nail polish as she looks seductively at the camera. 

The picture was actually one of multiple photo bumpers shown before the commercial breaks during SNL. To make it even more perfect, this one showed up right after a film noir sketch in which Aubrey Plaza’s mother was played by none other than Sharon Stone herself. 

In the sketch, Aubrey Plaza’s character is a suspected killer: she has had five husbands and they have all died. Jack Raughley (played by SNL’s James Austin Johnson), is investigating the case, and Plaza tries to convince him that she is innocent. She says that her husbands all die of natural causes because she just has a thing for old men. 

Just as Aubrey Plaza’s character starts flirting with the detective, Sharon Stone appears as her mother and interrupts, giving the audience a few good laughs and giving herself and Plaza a great chance to show how good of a team they could be.

Sharon Stone was also a part of musical guest Sam Smith’s performance of “Gloria”… even if some fans were confused as to why. According to Collider, however, it was because Stone was in the movie Gloria in 1999, so there was a connection. 

Aubrey Plaza’s other photo bumpers are also featured in her Instagram post. In the second photo, we see her donning an enormous black hat reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn. The third is one of her posing in a low-cut jumpsuit against a yellow background.

Other shots include the actress laughing as she crosses her arms and looks over her shoulder at the camera. Another has her standing behind a velvet rope as she poses in an elegant blue evening gown. And finally, she is smiling while wearing big sunglasses and holding a smoking cigarette in another call-back to old Hollywood.

Hosting on Saturday Night Live was a huge deal for Aubrey Plaza, who not only worked as a page at NBC, but also auditioned to be a cast member on SNL before her career took off. 

Lately, Aubrey Plaza has been having a moment, as she has received tons of attention for her roles in hits like The White Lotus and Emily the Criminal. Fans love her for her dramatic talent as well as her trademark dry, deadpan delivery of comedic lines – and for her ability to make that outfit from Basic Instinct look just as good as it did in the original movie.