Ms. Moore, it seems like after a few quieter years, you’re busier than ever with acting these days. Has your passion for the craft been reignited recently?
I think that's accurate. There was a period of time when acting wasn’t where I was really injecting my energy and focus, and even where I was wondering if maybe that part of my life had come to a completion — not ended, but where it was maybe like I've done what I was supposed to do. But I wasn't sure, and if I wasn't sure, then I needed to put my energy towards it to really see if this is what I wanted to be doing. I think for a long time I was putting just focus on my children and my family life. And now it feels like a wonderful time of my own autonomy. My children are grown. I can really explore this and I'm really energized by how things have been unfolding.
What explorations are you most excited about right now?
I mean, I think all the roles of my career have presented me with opportunities for my own personal growth in different ways. Roles that really push you out of your comfort zone, it really helps you to grow, and it then brings you greater capacity for love within yourself and love for others, which really felt like an opportunity to really be in greater service to others. With my recent film The Substance, for example, which explores a woman’s struggle with age and beauty, that certainly pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was really exploring the depths of vulnerability and so I think it was impossible to not walk away with a deepening into my own awareness, and the importance of appreciating all that you are.
“The violence that we hold against ourselves, the way in which we can speak negatively in our thoughts, and how powerful the message was of needing to be in acceptance and in love of ourselves as we are. I felt like that was very human.”
Recently you said that working on that film was very liberating, but I can imagine it was also difficult or raw or even overwhelming at times?
It was liberating going into the depths of this woman's despair, exploring the idea that we don’t appreciate something until it’s gone and if we choose, we have the opportunity to change that in our present moment. I felt it was very relatable in many respects. The part that always really struck me was, yes, there's the circumstance, there's cultural aspects of beauty standards that women are held to. But I actually felt like there was a very human aspect as well. The circumstances of Elizabeth's career environment, the violence that we hold against ourselves, the way in which we can speak negatively in our thoughts and in our way of holding ourselves, and how powerful the message was of needing to be in acceptance and in love of ourselves as we are. I felt like that was very human.
That process of rediscovering yourself and the human aspect of acceptance is something you also touched on in your memoir.
I mean, the externalized pressure that exists in some ways for women… There's a part where it doesn't seem like you can win. If you're getting old, you get judged. If you are trying to support yourself to look your best, then you're judged. But most importantly, it's less about what's being done to you, and it's about what we do to ourselves that I think it so powerful. And in The Substance, what's so interesting is that internal violence in our dialogue to ourself is externalized through the way in which our director, Coralie Fargeat, crafted the story. It allows you to take a step back and really look at what we're doing to ourselves. And when we look at what we're doing to ourselves, it's extremely empowering because we can actually do something about that.
How does this journey of self-acceptance impact your ability to look back on your own work as an actor? Are you able to watch your old films and feel at ease with yourself and how far you’ve come?
I can find the sweetness. I have a lot more appreciation for the journey that I've been on. I feel like when you're younger, you're just striving to see where you can go. And now I feel a lot more grounded. I do have a lot more ease and grace around being exactly where I am. But at the same time, of course it’s hard watching yourself! I’ve had a long enough career and I feel like I can go back now and see myself in past films, and still criticize myself. I think GI Jane really holds up and I feel quite proud of that film. It’s probably one of the few that I can actually watch of myself.
“I try to look at things more from the perspective that everything is happening for us, not to us. And so whatever challenges that were occurring at the time, perhaps they were happening just so this moment could happen.”
That’s an example of a film that was sort of underappreciated in its time, no?
It was really not given its full due. In many respects, GI Jane was perhaps a little ahead of its time, and it was really challenging. It asked some big questions, which is what made it interesting for me. I wrote about this in my memoir as well; that in a certain way I look back and feel like there was a perception that Strip Tease betrayed women. There was a perception GI Jane was betraying men. Not that that was true, but that was the perception. So both films were really pushing people to look outside of preconceived ideas and judgements of these particular characters and their role in life: one character being a stripper as a means to an end to survive and to provide for her daughter… And the other character challenging a profession and a role that was generally just for men.
Was it frustrating, the way that those films were perceived and talked about at the time?
I think there were aspects or moments that maybe felt a little disappointing. But you have to accept what is — and that's just what it was at that time. But I try to look at things more from the perspective that everything is happening for us, not to us. And so whatever challenges that were occurring at the time, perhaps they were happening just so this moment could happen. And so it's not that I can look back in any way and hold it as a loss. I see it only as a gain.
That is an incredibly healthy outlook. Have you always tried to think that way?
I’ve always been a glass half full person. The truth is that it’s our greatest hardships that bring us to a place of greater depth compassion and humility. I just feel like as human beings, we're not brought on this planet to be punished. So if we can step back from that lens of life happening for you, even when things are difficult and say, what is this trying to give me? Then we won't miss the opportunity that's being presented.