He thinks her performance had substance.
Dennis Quaid, who starred in the 2025 Oscar-nominated film “The Substance” with Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, is confident that Moore will win big at the Academy Awards on Sunday.
“I knew it like my second day working on that movie. I told Demi she’s going to win an Oscar for it,” Quaid, 70, told the Post in a recent interview promoting his commercial with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey for the “True To Texas” campaign.
“The Substance” is a body horror film written and directed by Coralie Fargeat. The plot follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore), an aging Hollywood starlet whose producer Harvey (Quaid) lets her go because she’s no longer young. As she desperately takes a shady black market drug called “The Substance” designed to create a younger version of herself, events spiral out of control.
The movie scored five Oscar nominations, including best picture, best original screenplay, best makeup and hairstyling and best director.
Moore is the frontrunner in the best actress race.
She’s up against Mikey Madison for “Anora,” Cynthia Erivo for “Wicked,” Fernanda Torres for “I’m Still Here” and Karla Sofia Gascon for “Emilia Perez.”
But, Moore seems to have it locked, as she already won the Golden Globe and SAG for the role.
Plus, Gascon’s Oscars campaign has been derailed by scandal, after her controversial past social media posts resurfaced. Following that incident, “Emilia Perez” distributor Netflix reportedly ditched the actress from the campaign.
“It’s just an incredible performance. It’s a gargantuan effort,” Quaid told the Post about Moore.
“The Parent Trap” star added, “I mean, it took nine months to do that. She was in makeup for like six, eight hours at a time. And the whole movie, what it says – Coralie as a director, I just love working with her. She reminds me of Stanley Kubrick and Sam Peckinpah put together.”
During her Globes acceptance speech, Moore, 62, gushed: “I’ve been doing this a long time, over 45 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor.”
The “Ghost” star proceeded to tell a story about how a producer told her she was a “popcorn actress” 30 years ago.
Moore said she believed that a prestigious award like a Golden Globe “wasn’t something I was allowed to have.”
“I had a woman say to me….’You can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.’ And so today I celebrate this as a marker of my wholeness…and being reminded that I do belong.”
The room gave her an enthusiastic applause. Kerry Washington, who had presented the category, quipped about how Moore’s speech was a showstopper: “Wow, good luck to the next person.”
About whether he’ll attend the 2025 Oscars to support “The Substance,” Quaid, who will also play a serial killer in the upcoming show “Happy Face,” wasn’t sure.
“I haven’t decided yet. I don’t think scheduling is going to allow me to do it. I may be working…but we’ll see.”
The 97th Academy Awards air Sunday, March 2 at 7 p.m. on ABC, hosted by Conan O’Brien.
