This is unquestionably Demi Moore’s year. After a superstar career and iconic movies like Ghost, G.I. Jane, Indecent Proposal, Disclosure, A Few Good Men, St. Elmo’s Fire, About Last Night, and countless others, she has finally received her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress for The Substance, which also won her lead actress prizes at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. In her Golden Globes speech last month, Moore noted it was the first show business award she had gotten for her acting in a career that stretches back four decades, which began with early notice in Stanley Donen’s 1984 Blame It on Rio, where she played Michael Caine’s daughter—a movie she tells me in our conversation that could not be made today.
We discussed all of this and why, now in her 60s, a role like the daring one she has in The Substance is so important and resonates deeply. I referred to it as “Ozempic: The Movie,” but as she explains, it speaks volumes about our quixotic desire for youth and self-love among many other themes in this horror-comedy that holds a mirror to society. Additionally, we talked about her role in the new series Landman as Jon Hamm’s wife and whether Season 2 will provide her character with more substantial screen time. There was also genuine excitement about a long-awaited sequel to St. Elmo’s Fire, exactly 40 years after its release, which catapulted Moore and the rest of its cast to stardom. She is eager to explore where her character would be today.
Moreover, I could not resist asking her about the infamous Will Smith-Chris Rock slap at the Oscars, which occurred after Rock joked about Smith’s wife with a reference to G.I. Jane. It’s clear Hollywood desires more of Demi Moore, and she is indeed on her way to the Oscars. To catch our full conversation and gain deeper insights into the “actor’s side” of things from Demi Moore, watch the video featured above. Stay tuned for more episodes of The Actor’s Side every week this Oscar season.
