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United States Margaret Qualley reveals the reason why shooting The Substance ...
By KATE DENNETT FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
Published: 23:54 GMT, 27 December 2024 | Updated: 00:02 GMT, 28 December 2024
Margaret Qualley has revealed why shooting The Substance was 'really hard' for her and the one part of filming which gave her 'anxiety'.
The American actress, 30, starred alongside Demi Moore in the horror satire movie, which has seen her nominated for best supporting actress at the Golden Globes.
The film sees aerobics TV host Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi) take a mysterious anti-ageing medication that will allow her to inhabit a younger body (played by Margaret), but with some sickening side effects.
Despite the sci-fi movie rising to critical acclaim, Margaret has confessed filming wasn't always plain-sailing as she discussed some of the challenges of the role.
Speaking to Vogue Australia, Margaret revealed filming The Substance was 'really hard' because there was little room for imperfections and was highly-scripted.
Though the film aims to tackle the issue of impossible Hollywood beauty standards, Margaret said the process of filming itself was very 'precise'.
Margaret Qualley has revealed why shooting The Substance was 'really hard' for her and the one part of filming which gave her 'anxiety'
Speaking to Vogue Australia, Margaret revealed filming The Substance was 'really hard' because there was little room for imperfections and was highly-scripted
'[Director Coralie Fargeat] wasn't looking for happy accidents, it's so controlled, so precise,' she explained.
'It was very challenging to shoot because I get a lot of joy out of free-falling, out of the feeling that anything could happen at any moment.'
Margaret said she chose acting as a profession because she could improvise and make mistakes in a huge step away from her teenage years competing in dance competitions, where everything had to be perfect.
While shooting The Substance, Margaret wore prosthetics in the film's gory third act and had to sit in the make-up chair for six hours every day while they were applied, a process she said gave her 'anxiety'.
She said her husband Jack Antonoff, who proposed to her during filming, would call her every day to check in on her and said she was grateful to have him there for support.
'I would stay up all night dreading the prosthetics,' she admitted. 'I would have such anxiety about it… [Jack] was calling me to check in, because those were trying times.'
The Substance made waves with its very quirky plot and Margaret is no stranger to starring in unique projects, having made a name for herself in the indie movie sphere.
She took on equally quirky roles in Yorgos Lanthimos' two latest releases Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness, both of which also starred Emma Stone.
The film sees TV host Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) take an anti-ageing medication that will allow her to inhabit a younger body (played by Margaret), but with some sickening side effects
She said she was grateful to have a 'romantic forcefield' of support from her husband Jack Antonoff (both pictured), who proposed to her during filming, amid the challenging time
However, Margaret hinted she could be leaving 'arty' movies behind her and is lining up a move into more mainstream films with her eye on a rom-com.
Though she is well-known for taking on unique and obscure roles, Margaret insisted she actually has no interest in watching those types of movies herself.
'I've been in a lot of obscure, arty movies, and they're not actually the movies I like to watch, and I think I wanna start being in stuff that I would wanna watch,' she confessed.
Instead, she wants to work with filmmaker Richard Curtis, who was behind Four Weddings and a Funeral - which helped her mother Andie MacDowell become a household name.
Though shooting The Substance may have been difficult at times, Margaret's hard work certainly paid off as she has been nominated for a Golden Globe.
In the best supporting actress category, she is up against Ariana Grande for Wicked, Selena Gomez for Emilia Pérez, Felicity Jones for The Brutalist, Isabella Rossellini for Conclave and Zoe Saldaña for Emilia Pérez.
Leading star Demi has also received a nod for best actress alongside the likes of Amy Adams, Cynthia Erivo, Karla Sofía Gascón, Mikey Madison and Zendaya.
The Substance has also been nominated in the lauded best film category while filmmaker Coralie Fargeat is up for best director and best screenplay.
Demi has got some of the best reviews of her career for The Substance and has been nominated for best actress at the 2025 Golden Globes
Demi has got some of the best reviews of her career for The Substance, in which she plays a former Oscar winner named Elisabeth Sparkle who hosts a popular aerobics TV show.
After she turns 50, Elisabeth is dumped from her series by her piggish boss Harvey (Dennis Quaid), even though her younger replacement hasn't been secured yet.
She finds a way around ageing after she learns of a mysterious medication — 'the Substance' — that will allow her to inhabit a much younger body (Margaret).
But the two bodies have to take turns using their bodies, and when they inevitably overstay their turns, both suffer stomach-churning side effects that have left some audience members rushing out of theatres in fits of nausea.
GOLDEN GLOBES 2025 NOMINEES
FILM
Best Film - Drama
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
September 5
Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya, Dune: Part Two
Best Film - Musical or Comedy
Anora
Challengers
Emilia Pérez
A Real Pain
The Substance
Wicked
Best Non-English Language Film
All We Imagine as Light
Emilia Pérez
The Girl with the Needle
I'm Still Here
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Vermiglio
Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez
Best Animated Film
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Moana 2
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Cinematic And Box Office Achievement
Alien: Romulus
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Deadpool & Wolverine
Gladiator II
Inside Out 2
Twisters
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Paul Mescal, Gladiator II
Best Actress - Drama
Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
Angelina Jolie, Maria
Nicole Kidman, Babygirl
Tilda Swinton, The Room Next Door
Fernanda Torres, I'm Still Here
Kate Winslet, Lee
Best Actor - Drama
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig, Queer
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Best Actress - Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams, Nightbitch
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Zendaya, Challengers
Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey, Queer
Best Actor - Musical or Comedy
Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain
Hugh Grant, Heretic
Gabriel LaBelle, Saturday Night
Jesse Plemons, Kinds of Kindness
Glen Powell, Hit Man
Sebastian Stan, A Different Man
Best Supporting Actress - Musical or Comedy
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Margaret Qualley, The Substance
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
Best supporting Actor - Musical or Comedy
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Denzel Washington, Gladiator II
Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Best director
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker, Anora
Edward Berger, Conclave
Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
Payal Kapadia, All We Imagine as Light
Best screenplay
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold, The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
Peter Straughan, Conclave
Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain
Best Original Song
Beautiful That Way, The Last Showgirl
Compress/Repress, Challengers
El Mal, Emilia Pérez
Forbidden Road, Better Man
Kiss The Sky, The Wild Robot
Mi Camino, Emilia Pérez
Best Original Film Score
Conclave
The Brutalist
The Wild Robot
Emilia Pérez
Challengers
Dune: Part Two
TV
Best TV Series - Drama
The Diplomat
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Shōgun
Squid Game
Slow Horses
The Day of the Jackal
Best TV Series - Comedy or Musical
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
The Gentlemen
Hacks
Nobody Wants This
Only Murders in the Building
Kaya Scodelario and Theo James, The Gentlemen
Best Limited TV Series
Baby Reindeer
Disclaimer
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
The Penguin
Ripley
True Detective: Night Country
Best TV Actress - Drama
Kathy Bates, Matlock
Emma D'Arcy, House of the Dragon
Maya Erskine, Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Keira Knightley, Black Doves
Anna Sawai, Shōgun
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
Keira Knightley, Black Doves
Best TV Actor – Drama
Donald Glover, Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Jake Gyllenhaal, Presumed Innocent
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Eddie Redmayne, The Day of the Jackal
Hiroyuki Sanada, Shōgun
Billy Bob Thornton, Landman (Paramount+)
Best TV Actress - Comedy or Musical
Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building
Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along
Jean Smart, Hacks
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Best TV Actor - Comedy or Musical
Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This
Ted Danson, A Man on the Inside
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Jason Segel, Shrinking
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Best TV Actress - Limited Series
Cate Blanchett, Disclaimer
Jodie Foster, True Detective: Night Country
Cristin Milioti, The Penguin
Sofía Vergara, Griselda
Naomi Watts, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
Kate Winslet, The Regime
Best TV Actor - LImited Series
Colin Farrell, The Penguin
Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer
Kevin Kline, Disclaimer
Cooper Koch, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Ewan McGregor, A Gentleman in Moscow
Andrew Scott, Ripley
Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer
Best Supporting Actress - TV
Liza Colón-Zayas, The Bear
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Dakota Fanning, Ripley
Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer
Allison Janney, The Diplomat
Kali Reis, True Detective: Night Country
Best Supporting Actor - TV
Tadanobu Asano, Shōgun
Javier Bardem, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Jack Lowden, Slow Horses
Diego Luna, La Maquina
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear
Best TV Stand-Up Comedy Performance
Jamie Foxx, What Had Happened Was
Nikki Glaser, Someday You'll Die
Seth Meyers, Dad Man Walking
Adam Sandler, Love You
Ali Wong, Single Lady
Ramy Youssef, More Feelings
