“The Substance” star Demi Moore says “insecurity about her body” led her to accept revealing roles

Demi Moore admitted that some of her career decisions were motivated by her desire to overcome her personal insecurities.

In an interview with Variety, the 61-year-old actress talked about why she chose to accept revealing roles in films such as “Striptease” (1996) and posed nude for the cover of Vanity Fair magazine at the height of her fame.

“One of the biggest misconceptions about me is that I love my body,” Moore said.

She continued, “The reality is that I have commissioned many projects to help me overcome insecurities about my body.”

Demi Moore, 61, felt that at 40 there was no longer any room for her in Hollywood

“It was the same with the Vanity Fair covers. It wasn't that I loved them – it was about freeing myself from the slavery I had put myself in,” the “Ghost” star added.

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The Emmy nominee said she is drawn to daring roles that break gender stereotypes.

“The other truth is that I've always been fascinated by things that are provocative – not in a sexual sense, but things that provoke meaningful thought,” Moore said.

She continued: “Take 'Striptease': There was an interesting kind of judgment about a woman who worked as a dancer, but the idea was that this was a woman who was trying to take care of her child as best she could. With 'GI Jane' I thought, 'if a woman is skilled enough and has the desire to [serve]why shouldn't we want them there?'

“I didn't understand why that door was closed. Many of my films had similar themes. 'Indecent Proposal' and 'Exposé' are similar in some ways. We had never seen a woman as an aggressor, as an abuser.”

After rising to fame in the 1980s, Moore caused controversy when she posed nude for a 1991 Vanity Fair cover titled “More Demi Moore” while the actress was seven months pregnant with her daughter Scout. She appeared nude again on the cover of Vanity Fair's August 1992 issue, which was titled “Demi's Birthday Suit.” In 2019, Moore stripped down to pose completely nude on the cover of Harper's Bazaar's October issue.

In the mid-1990s, Moore was the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, but the critical and box office failures of Striptease and 1997's GI Jane marked the beginning of a steep decline in the actress's career.

Speaking to Variety, Moore mentioned both films when asked which of her films did not get the recognition it deserved.

“When I actually look at 'GI Jane,' there was a group of people who wanted to stop the movie before it even started,” she recalled. “I did 'Striptease' and 'GI Jane' back to back. If there was ever anything against me in this industry, it was that those two movies came out at the same time and I became the highest-paid actress.”

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“The “That moment was so powerful for me because it wasn't just about me; it was about changing the game for all women,” Moore added. “But by playing a stripper, I was betraying women. And by playing a soldier, I was betraying men.”

“It quickly became, 'She's only getting paid for playing a stripper.' That hit me really hard. But at the same time, I understood that whoever steps out first has to take the hit. That goes for anyone who challenges the status quo.”

However, Moore told Variety that she would “definitely” make the same decisions if she had the opportunity to reshoot the film.

“They gave me so much,” she said of “Striptease” and “GI Jane.” “That's ultimately all I have, my experience.”

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Moore stars in the new horror film “The Substance,” which received a 13-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

In the film, Moore plays a 50-year-old celebrity who uses an experimental drug to temporarily create a younger version of herself. Moore appears in several nude scenes alongside her co-star Margaret Qualley, who plays the younger version of her character.

At the press conference for “The Substance” in Cannes, Moore thanked Qualley for making her feel comfortable during filming.

“I had someone who was a great partner, who I felt very safe with,” Moore said, via Variety. “We were obviously pretty close – naked – and we also enjoyed a lot of levity in those moments about how absurd those particular situations were.”

“But ultimately it's just about really directing communication and mutual trust,” she added.

Source of the original article: “The Substance” star Demi Moore says “insecurity about her body” led her to accept revealing roles