A portrait of strength, authenticity and transformation.
Starring in films whose scenes are etched in the cinema history, Demi Moore is an ageless woman. Beautiful, smart, pragmatic, she talks openly about her life as an actress and a woman. Her stunning performance in The Substance turned once again the Hollywood spotlight on her, and not only that of Hollywood. Ironically, the film faces the theme of that eternal youth that stars have always longed for, whether out of vanity or need. Everything revolves around that same perfection she was asked for by the big screen. “Throughout my career, someone put pressure on me; I’ve been asked to lose weight, to conform to an ideal of beauty that is almost impossible to achieve. But we are not perfect, we are real! We should just strive to be the best version of ourselves. That’s true!”.
What do you see today when you look in the mirror? What has changed in your relationship with your body?
“I accept myself exactly as I am! Some days I look in the mirror and I like myself. Other days I like myself a little less. My face is not how I would like it to be, my skin is not how I would like it to be… but I accept it, I tell myself, it’s okay like this! It’s better to accept and value what we are, rather than waste our energy focusing on the lack, on what we are not or do not have, looking for something that we’ll probably never get because it doesn’t belong to us”.
Your hair is very long, raven-black and looks like silk. In the film G.I. Jane, there’s an iconic scene where you shave it off live. What did you feel in that moment?
“I remember the adrenaline. But I had to do it. It was a fundamental part of the movie. I was calm, determined, I felt that kind of controlled calm typical of crazy people. From that moment on, I decided that I would let disproportionately grow it. I like long hair. Who said that at a certain age it should necessarily be cut? Who decided that a woman over fifty should have short hair or hair above her shoulders? No one, I repeat, no one, can tell you how to behave. You are your own master. And I chose to be myself”.
Wise words. What else have you changed?
“I have changed my priorities. My family and my daughters come before me. I pursue mental peace. Over time I’ve understood my own centering. As a young girl, when I first appeared on the screen, it was easy to lose my balance”.
I wouldn’t have said it, you always seemed to me very confident.
“I’m an actress. I made everyone believe it. But the facts are very different. I was fragile, insecure, I didn’t like myself. My face seemed too chubby, I didn’t have cheekbones… now I don’t know what I would give for a little more flesh in the right places!”.
When you see yourself on the screen, do you like yourself, are you satisfied with yourself?
“Like almost all actors, I don’t like to see me again on the screen. But I’m happy if I do a good job”.
For The Substance you won the SAG Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role and were nominated for an Oscar in the same category. From one to ten, how proud are you of yourself?
“Eleven! Because it was an intense, but beautiful, psychological journey. A close and intimate dialogue between me and myself…”.
Imagine meeting yourself at the beginning of your career. What would you recommend to a little Demi?
“I would just tell her that everything is okay. That everything is fine. That it’s okay to make mistakes, it’s okay to fail, it’s okay to be scared. I would reassure her by telling her to have faith, because if today, at 61, I’m living the best time of my life, full of joy and gratitude, I owe it to her”.
