Sharon Stone thinks her sex symbol status is ''hilarious''.

The 55-year-old actress became a household name following her starring role in erotic thriller 'Basic Instinct' in 1992, but the actress insists she isn't as glamorous and attractive as people think - especially in the morning.

She said: ''People thought I was a sex symbol, which to me is the most hilarious thing of all time. You should see me in the morning. It's really not that hot, honestly. I could live in my flannel pyjamas forever! My father always used to say, 'If you don't get out of that flannel nightgown, nobody is ever going to marry you.' ''

Sharon has earned a reputation for playing sexy characters on screen, however, the 'Lovelace' star reveals producers were initially reluctant to cast her early in her career because she wasn't ''hot''.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper, she explained: ''People didn't think I was sexy or pretty and Chuck, my manager for 30 years, would call me up and say, 'You can't get that movie because they don't think that you are hot.' I'm such a bookworm; I'm always at home, shy, in my library. It was like, 'Oh my God, what am I going to do?' ''

A pal of the blonde beauty encouraged her to pose for men's magazine, Playboy, and soon Sharon's luck changed.

Sharon recalled: ''We did this thing and people decided, 'Oh, she's sexy!' Then I got endlessly cast in the sexy parts and that was fantastic because who doesn't want to be gorgeous, hot and sexy?''