After a brief acting hiatus, Demi Moore is returning to the screen in full force. She’ll star in Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming drama Landman but before that, she has a buzzy role in Cannes breakout The Substance, which heads to theaters next month. It’s almost as if we’ll be seeing…..Moore of her. Sorry.
The Substance is the upcoming body horror film from French director Coralie Fargeat, who highlights the true evil entity of the universe: aging. Moore stars as an aerobics instructor who loses her job after turning 50, only to be presented with a unique drug that creates a younger version of herself, played by Margaret Qualley. The movie was praised after premiering at Cannes earlier this year, and the leading duo have been praised for their on-screen counterparts.
While filming, Moore and Qualley had no choice but to get very close (they were playing the same person, after all) but it helped that they actually like each other. In a new Interview Magazine spread, Moore explained their on-set dynamic to actress Michelle Yeoh. “There was truly a part, when Margaret [Qualley] and I were on this cold tile floor having to be draped on one another—and it was a very serious scene—that we both just burst out laughing, saying, ‘Thank god we like each other, because otherwise this would be really awkward,’” she said.
Moore added that she and Qualley had a unique approach to the unconventional story. “I felt like I had such a partner in this with Margaret, that we both were exploring this from two different aspects,” she explained.
Director Coralie Fargeat penned the story, which Moore related to in her own way. “Sometimes it felt like I represented Coralie in her present time, and Margaret was representing this perfected idea that was, in Coralie’s experience, held against her. And I don’t even think it’s limited to women,” she added. But who would Dennis Quaid turn into if he took the very Substance that he was pushing? Probably his Nepo Baby son, Jack Quaid.
The Substance hits theaters on September 20th.