Demi Moore explained how the ‘intensity’ of ‘The Substance’ affected her health while filming in a new interview with the L.A. Times.
“To give you an idea of the intensity, my first week that I actually had off, where it was just Margaret working, I got shingles,” she shared. “And I then lost, like, 20 pounds.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defined shingles as a ‘painful rash illness’ that occurs when the chickenpox virus reactivates in someone who has already had it.
Margaret Qualley also experienced challenges during the production, which spanned six months in 2022. “Oh, yeah, I had crazy acne for a full, long-a** time,” she added.
‘The Substance’ followed Fargeat’s 2017 debut film, ‘Revenge.’ Its story focused on a fading celebrity who turned to a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily madeher a younger and improved version of herself.
The cast also featured Dennis Quaid, Hugo Diego Garcia, Phillip Schurer, and Joseph Balderrama. Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner produced along with the director.