Demi Moore was left with ‘intense’ illness after ‘The Substance’

Demi Moore is no stranger to pushing boundaries in her acting career, but her latest role in The Substance left her with an illness that saw her drop a significant amount of weight.

The 60-year-old actress, who is known for playing complex and demanding roles, opened up about the intense experience of filming the upcoming body horror film directed by Coralie Fargeat.

In an interview with the L.A. Times, Demi revealed just how challenging the production was, both physically and emotionally. "To give you an idea of the intensity, my first week that I actually had off, where it was just Margaret [Qualley] working, I got shingles," she shared candidly.

The diagnosis, which came as a shock to her, was a stark reminder of the toll that such an intense role can take on the body and mind. "And I then lost, like, 20 pounds," she added, highlighting just how tough the process was.

Shingles is a painful condition often triggered by stress, where the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox, reactivates.

The illness is described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a "painful rash illness," which was an unexpected and unwelcome challenge for Demi as she tried to navigate the demands of her role.

Despite the hardships, the actress knew that this was the kind of project where you had to give a hundred percent of your efforts. "You have to walk away feeling that you put it all on the table."

"It called for it and it’s what you want to bring to it." For Demi Moore, her role in The Substance was a way of exploring the darker, more complex aspects of the human psyche, something she has never shied away from.