The New Yorker Radio Hour — Demi Moore Talks with Jia Tolentino
Date: January 6, 2026
Host: David Remnick
Guests: Demi Moore, Gia Tolentino
Episode Focus: A candid conversation about Demi Moore's early life, career, iconic roles, motherhood, evolving personal value, and her new projects.
Overview: Main Theme & Purpose
This episode offers an in-depth dialogue between New Yorker staff writer Jia Tolentino and actor Demi Moore, recorded at the New Yorker Festival. Through frank anecdotes and reflection, Moore discusses her peripatetic childhood, the pressures she faced navigating early stardom and motherhood, her approach to transformative roles, and how her sense of self has evolved across her four-decade career. The discussion touches on themes of adaptability, gender expectations, body image, risk, and artistic integrity, using touchpoints from Moore's filmography—including Indecent Proposal, G.I. Jane, and her new projects.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Childhood, Adaptability, and Becoming an Actor
[01:38 – 04:14]
- Frequent Moves & Early Adulthood: Moore recounts attending at least two schools per year, leading to expertise in adaptability and “loading a U-Haul.”
- Impact on Friendships:
“...I became very adaptable… On the plus side, I also learned the positive side of not clinging to attachment. The downside is that it made it harder to nurture friendships.” — Demi Moore [02:23]
- Fitting In vs. Selfhood: Early on, Moore focused on evaluating situations to fit in, sometimes at the expense of knowing her own likes or sense of self.
2. Early Career and Motherhood
[04:14 – 06:33]
- Moore began acting in her teens while balancing motherhood before it was common among peers.
- A Few Good Men: Moore was eight months pregnant during auditions and started rehearsals a month after her second child was born.
“I was moving around all right, but I could tell [Tom Cruise] felt that it was a bit awkward.” — Demi Moore [04:50]
- Work-Life Pressure:
“I look back at that time now and I go, what the fuck was I thinking? I mean, what was I even trying to prove?” — Demi Moore [06:13]
3. Performance in Indecent Proposal & Public Reception
[06:33 – 11:47]
- Memorable Scene Replay: Watching her performance, Moore describes recognizing old lines and feeling a newfound appreciation for her past work.
“Sometimes what's nice at this point in my life is that I actually have the ability to look back and have more appreciation… Versus remembering being in it, how critical I was, how much I dissected all that wasn't…” — Demi Moore [07:25]
- Filming with Woody Harrelson: Describes awkwardness filming love scenes with a close family friend.
- The Movie’s Moral Core:
“The pain of making a choice and having to live with the consequences is what that scene is really all about. And the unforeseen consequences of doing something that's for the higher good...” — Demi Moore [09:02]
- Gendered Double Standard in Shame:
“Somehow she is shamed for it.” — Demi Moore [10:35]
- Tolentino’s Modern Reversal: Suggests that, today, many people would vie for a night with Robert Redford, underscoring cultural shifts about sexuality and agency.
4. G.I. Jane and Physical Transformations
[11:47 – 16:13]
- Attachment to the Role: Moore’s personal favorite, G.I. Jane, was transformative due to the challenge of embodying a woman fighting to break gender barriers.
“There was something in that, for me, that really addressed so many bigger questions at play in women's roles.” — Demi Moore [11:52]
- Grueling Training:
“When I went to do the training… it was literally me and 40 guys. They made it so that I really had to feel just like in the movie…” — Demi Moore [15:35]
- On-Screen Dynamics & Integrity: Discusses unusual decision for films at the time: her roles often avoided sexualization or romantic subplots, prioritizing character integrity.
“…there was an expectation that if an attractive woman showed up on film, it was only a matter of time before you saw her in bed. [...] I always really appreciated that they took a stand for the integrity of the material because it wouldn't have ever been right.” — Demi Moore [18:26]
5. Career Themes: Agency, Body, and Gender Expectations
[13:04 – 14:03]
- Moore regularly chose roles with “tough, incredibly capable women” whose bodies became battlegrounds for financial, social, or literal survival.
“I do think you're 100%. There is a thread that goes through, even if it's an unconscious one. And I think mine tend to also challenge the status quo.” — Demi Moore [14:03]
- Physicality in acting helped her confront personal discomfort about her body.
6. Shifting Artistic Identity & Recent Recognition
[18:49 – 21:45]
- The Substance & New Vulnerability: Moore’s new role in The Substance departs from her typical, fearless characters. Here, fear and vulnerability come to the forefront.
- Old Industry Labels: Moore references being labeled a “popcorn actress” — good for box office but not artistry — and describes the validation in recent nuanced appraisals of her craft.
“For a very long time [I saw] only that of what I wasn't, everything I hadn't done. And I really didn't have a sense of my own value or appreciation.” — Demi Moore [20:03]
- Risk and Longevity:
“...there's a point in my early career where I had nothing to lose because I didn't have anything. And then I had a little bit of success where you then start to get afraid of losing that success… And so what I've always tried to do is keep pushing myself beyond that limit.” — Demi Moore [21:19]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “You have to find a way of holding on to your own center as you are in entirely new settings, environments, and with different people.” — Demi Moore [02:03]
- “At that moment, none of my peers were having children. There was still a feeling you had to choose. You had to choose a career or being a mother. I just felt like that didn’t make sense.” — Demi Moore [05:43]
- “Sometimes what's nice at this point in my life is that I actually have the ability to look back and have more appreciation… Versus remembering being in it, how critical I was, how much I dissected and tore apart all that wasn't. Versus today, where I can really appreciate all that is.” — Demi Moore [07:25]
- “If Tom and Demi aren't gonna sleep together, then why is Demi a woman?” — Studio executive, quoted by Moore [18:16]
- “...to do stuff that's still, you know, really pushes the envelope, that pushes me to places. I need to do something enough that I'm willing to fail.” — Demi Moore [20:51]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- Demi Moore’s Adaptable Childhood: [01:38 – 04:14]
- Motherhood and A Few Good Men: [04:14 – 06:33]
- Indecent Proposal Reflections: [06:33 – 11:47]
- On GI Jane and Breaking Gender Norms: [11:47 – 16:13]
- Challenging Industry Stereotypes & New Projects: [18:49 – 21:45]
Conclusion
This conversation paints a portrait of Demi Moore as an artist shaped by instability, driven by integrity and risk, and transformed through experience—both personal and professional. The episode delves into how her roles mirrored and challenged societal expectations around gender and body, providing listeners with a rare look at both the Hollywood machine and the internal world of a celebrated actor who continues to evolve, defy labels, and seek authentic growth.