Demi Moore Says She Lost 20 Pounds, Broke Out In Shingles From 'Intensity' Of Latest Role
Demi Moore says she “put it all on the table” for her latest role, but not without consequences.
Moore stars as a fictional A-list actor in “The Substance,” a buzzed-about body-horror flick about a new drug that allows customers to birth a younger, prettier version of themselves. Naturally, things go very much awry in the film — and apparently did in real life, too.
“To give you an idea of the intensity, my first week that I actually had off, where it was just Margaret [Qualley] working, I got shingles,” Moore told the Los Angeles Times in an expansive interview Tuesday, adding: “And I then lost, like, 20 pounds.”
Shingles is a viral infection that can occur anywhere on the body and result in a painful rash. The varicella-zoster virus, which is the same one that causes chickenpox, that’s responsible for shingles can reactivate years after initial exposure — often due to stress.
“Oh, yeah,” Qualley interjected, “I had crazy acne for a full, long-ass time.”
Qualley plays the seemingly “perfect” version of Moore’s Elisabeth Sparkle, a fading star who opts to use the fictional drug. Determined to revive her career and rise from the proverbial ashes, the film’s trailer suggests Sparkle achieves anything but.
“You have to walk away feeling that you put it all on the table,” Moore told the LA Times. “It called for it and it’s what you want to bring to it.”
Though general audiences have yet to see the film, “The Substance” premiered to rave reviews in May at the Cannes Film Festival. The purportedly razor-sharp satire of Hollywood’s impossible quest for perfection currently sits at a ripe 92% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film is already garnering Oscar buzz for Moore, as the once-ubiquitous star — who dominated the erotic-thriller genre before a younger generation of actors arrived in Hollywood — portrays a character with the same ingrained beauty standards Moore has battled herself.
“That’s what makes it such a powerful piece. It’s really what she’s doing to herself that’s most violent,” Moore told the Times.
She continued: “[The script] took something that is a very internalized violence against oneself and externalized it in this way that allows the audience to have a little objectivity and … see what we’re doing to ourselves through that harsh, constant criticism, and comparison.”
While the “Striptease” (1996) star is no stranger to nude scenes, Moore is now 61 and recently confessed she and Qualley required “a lot of conversation” and “mutual trust” on “The Substance.”
As for her Hollywood comeback, Moore has not forgotten how fickle the spotlight can be.
She recalled filming “Striptease” and “G.I. Jane” (1997) “back to back” and becoming “the highest-paying actress” in Hollywood at the time, only to endure cultural pushback from both male and female audiences who believed Moore was overexposed — and miscast.
“That moment was so powerful for me because it wasn’t just about me; it was about changing the playing field for all women,” the mother of three told Variety. “But because I was portraying a stripper, I betrayed women. And because I played a soldier, I betrayed men.”
“I understood that anybody who steps out first is going to take the hit,” Moore continued. “That goes for anybody challenging the status quo.”
