Demi Moore expected Mikey Madison to win the Academy Award for lead actress, she recently told Time magazine.
“I don’t know why I knew, but I did,” Moore said in the interview. “I was so centered and calm. I didn’t feel gutted. I didn’t feel any of those kinds of things. I just trusted, and am in trust of, whatever is going to unfold.”
An industry veteran, Moore had an impressive awards season run, winning the acting prize at the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards for her performance as Elisabeth Sparkle in “The Substance,” a film about an actor filled with so much self-loathing that she takes a drug called “the substance” to create a younger version of herself.
She revealed in her emotional Golden Globe acceptance speech that a producer once called her a “popcorn actress,” which “corroded me over time to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it.”
Despite being the favorite to win (and despite the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ love for a redemption arc), Moore lost to newcomer Madison.
Moore acknowledged she was disappointed, but not hurt, by the loss. In fact, she said that during the commercial break before the award was announced, she whispered to her manager, “I think it’s going to Mikey.”
After the awards show, Moore wrote on Instagram, “As this awards season comes to a close, I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude for this journey. It’s been the ride of a lifetime and we’re just getting started! So grateful for my team, my fellow nominees, and everyone who has made this experience so full of joy and light. … And a huge congratulations to #MikeyMadison — can’t wait to see what you do next ♥️”
For her part, Madison told the Hollywood Reporter that after the awards show, “I texted with Demi, who I adore. She’s one of the sweetest, kindest women I’ve ever met, and I’m so grateful that I was able to meet her and witness her brilliance and talent in person.”
Despite the Oscars snub, Moore told Time that the success of “The Substance” ultimately increased her profile.
“To go from the beginning of this last year feeling like I was never part of the conversation to being acknowledged in a critical way for my work has just allowed me to open up my belief in greater possibilities,” she said.
At the moment, Moore is filming Season 2 of the Paramount+ drama series “Landman.” Her next feature will be Boots Riley’s “I Love Boosters,” also starring Keke Palmer and LaKeith Stanfield.
