Why Demi Moore Feels Like She Doesn't Have to 'Play by Any Rules' at 62
Demi Moore’s upcoming movie, The Substance, is opening in theaters on Sept. 20, and the body-horror drama is putting focus on the standards society places upon women’s bodies. At 62, she’s ready to put Hollywood’s ageism and sexism aside because the only person she needs to listen to in this season of life is herself.
Moore explained to The New York Times, “I think part of the liberation of doing this film was realizing that I’m here to define who I am at almost 62, and I don’t need to play by any rules that have existed up until now, and I don’t know what that is because I haven’t been here before.” She’s not going to buy the idea that “at a certain age you shouldn’t have long hair” by asking, ‘Well, who made that rule?'” That’s a really good question that honestly doesn’t have a reasonable answer.
More from SheKnows
Moore has enjoyed a thrilling year with her well-received movie and her turn as Ann Woodward in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans — just don’t call it a comeback, though. “It’s not that I wasn’t doing things, but there wasn’t something that had that juice and depth,” she told Michelle Yeoh in an August chat for Interview Magazine. She found that the real sexism in Hollywood hit her when she was in her forties.
“I had done Charlie’s Angels, and there was a lot of conversation around this scene in a bikini, and it was all very heightened, a lot of talk about how I looked,” she explained. “And then I found that there didn’t seem to be a place for me. I didn’t feel like I didn’t belong. It’s more like I felt that feeling of, I’m not 20, I’m not 30, but I wasn’t yet what they perceived as a mother.”
“Where do I fit in?” Moore questioned. “It was a time that felt, not dead, but flat.” At 62, Moore has figured out where she fits in and that’s as a leading actress tackling meaningful work. In The Substance, she plays a woman who is fighting with her own body because she’s been aged out of her role as a celebrity fitness instructor. Moore related to the “deep, internal connection to the pain that [her character] was experiencing, the rejection that she felt.” While their journeys have been different, the emotional consequences Moore and her character faced show how hard society’s expectations can be on women.
Before you go, click here to see actresses over 50 who are more successful now than ever.
Best of SheKnows
Charlie Puth & Brooke Sansone, & More Celebrities Who Got Married in 2024
Who Is Anna Delvey? The True Story of the Real-Life Scammer on Dancing with the Stars
All the Bachelor & Bachelorette Couples Who Are Still Together
Sign up for SheKnows' Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
