How Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley Were Connected Before Playing Versions of Same Character inThe Substance(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘The Substance’ on Sept. 16.Photo:Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Demi MooreandMargaret Qualleyhad a personal connection offscreen long before sharing one onscreen in their new movieThe Substance.

Moore, 61, “hadn’t met” her costar before shooting the buzzy body-horror film, she tells PEOPLE. But the two “absolutely have indirect connections.”

For one, Moore starred with Qualley’s motherAndie MacDowellin 1985 hitSt. Elmo’s Fire. “I worked with her mother in one of my first films,” recalls Moore, adding that Qualley, 29, knewher daughters(Rumer, 36,Scout, 33, andTallulah, 30, who Moore shares with exBruce Willis).

So before playing two versions of the same character in their new movie from writer-director Coralie Fargeat, says Moore, “I feel like we felt like we knew each other.”

Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of ‘The Substance’ on Sept. 5.Cindy Ord/Getty

Cindy Ord/Getty

Qualley agrees, quipping, “I’m like everybody else — I’ve been a big fan of Demi’s for a long time.”

Moore’s 1997 movieG.I. Jane“is one of my favorite movies ever,” she adds. “I read herautobiographyand I think Demi’s one of those people where she’s very open and warm, so she makes you feel like you know them right away. That was my experience.”

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Demi Moore in ‘The Substance’.Courtesy of MUBI

Courtesy of MUBI

Of the movie, which won Fargeat, 48, a best screenplay prize during itsCannes Film Festivalpremiere, Moore says, “Looking at the circumstances, which is creating this kind of societal conditioning of women’s value basically fading as they age, is kind of our setup."

The body issues and obsession with youth thatThe Substanceexplores can resonate with “everyone,” says Qualley. Fargeat is “utilizing Hollywood and actors to kind of exaggerate these characters… but I think we could all kind of have that same feeling.”

The Substance, which costarsDennis Quaid, is in theaters now.

source: people.com