(Credits: Far Out / MUBI)
Thu 23 October 2025 21:45, UK
Adorned in pink, her metallic leotard reflecting the bright lights of a camera crew as she gyrates across a studio, Margaret Qualley is unforgettable as Sue in the Oscar-winning body horror hit The Substance, playing the part of a younger, ‘better’ version of Demi Moore’s ageing TV star, Elisabeth.
This was by no means Qualley’s introduction to Hollywood – you probably already recognised her from getting barefoot with Brad Pitt in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, bearing the familiar smile of her famous mother, Andie MacDowell. Yet, it was undoubtedly The Substance that cemented her place in the industry as a star, with the actor proving just how far she’d go for her work.
Acne, panic attacks, and physical exhaustion were just some of the side effects from her prosthetic-heavy and emotionally draining role in Coralie Fargeat’s film, but if it meant making a movie that would leave people squirming, equally as repulsed as they were impressed, then it was seemingly worth it.
With the actor now becoming a frequent collaborator of directing icons like the Coens and Yorgos Lanthimos, Qualley’s career as a leading star is firmly in the bag. You might think she got here by desperately following in the footsteps of her mother, but Qualley admits that it was actually a certain Emma Roberts film that truly solidified her decision to become an actor.
Qualley and Roberts would end up starring alongside each other in Gia Coppola’s coming-of-age film Palo Alto in 2013 (which also featured Jack Kilmer and Nat Wolff, making it quite the nepo baby concoction). But several years before, Qualley would stumble upon the film It’s Kind of a Funny Story, a hopeful tale of a teen boy’s time in a psychiatric ward, where he meets several patients who change the course of his life for the better.
Roberts played Noelle, a teen girl with a history of self-harm who forms a relationship with protagonist Craig, and it was this performance that influenced Qualley. “This might be strange, because my mom’s an actress, but the movie that I saw that I was like, ‘I should be an actress’, was It’s Kind of a Funny Story starring Emma Roberts,” she told Collider.
She continued, “I moved to New York at 16 and I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life – I was living here alone, a little aimless. And I saw that performance and I was like, ‘I kinda look like her’ and I was like ‘I’m sad too…maybe I should do this.’”
Not only was Qualley inspired by Robert’s performance, but she clearly absorbed the film’s exploration of figuring out your place, with Craig’s journey resulting in his realisation that he can’t force himself into a world of academic validation when his true calling is to be an artist. In recognising this, he becomes free from the shackles of intense pressure, and he is able to rebuild his life around this new goal.
Just three years after the release of It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Qualley would make her screen debut in Palo Alto, and everything seemed to fall neatly into place. She might not have been inspired by her mother, but clearly, her close proximity to Hollywood was pretty convenient in making her dream a reality.
Related Topics