Margaret Qualley says 'the substance' was 'outside my comfort zone' (exclusive)

Embodiment of her character in The substance challenged Margaret Qualley to take new risks on screen.

Qualley, 29, tells PEOPLE the provocative body horror film by Coralie Fargeat (Revenge), was “really outside my comfort zone.”

“I think for me, that's something I've never done before,” the actress says of her role as Sue, a younger version of the character Elisabeth Sparkle played by her co-star Demi Moore, who is hypersexualized throughout the film. “I think I've consciously gone in the other direction over the course of my career.”

In The substanceQualley takes on the role of Sue, a more youthful clone of Moore's aging actress created by an illegal serum. The film contains nudity and many hard-to-take moments as the two women, who share a consciousness, inject themselves with the film's titular serum.

“I knew it would be a big challenge for me,” The maid star's share of the role. Qualley added that the nudity in the film “very much serves the purpose of this story.”

She continues: “It's a journey you have to take to bring this to life. And I was excited about that challenge.”

Moore, 61, agrees. “It's part of what makes challenging yourself interesting and exciting, because I think you end up gaining more of yourself by facing the discomfort and fear that a person might have. I don't see it as fear so much as vulnerability,” she says.

For Qualley, the film's themes have a certain universality: Elisabeth and Sue long for youth, fame and recognition – all things that are highly valued in society.

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“We all choose to highlight different parts of ourselves that we want to present to the world, to show how we want people to see us,” the actress notes. “And not many of Sue's qualities match the ones I present to the world. But that doesn't mean they aren't in me somewhere.”

The substancestarring Dennis Quaid is now in cinemas.