Margaret Qualley‘s starring role in The Substance left a lasting impression on her loved ones.
Qualley, 29, has nude scenes in the film, in which she plays Sue, a younger version of Demi Moore‘s Elisabeth Sparkle, an actress turned TV aerobics star who tries a black-market drug to create a younger version of herself.
Shey joked, “It’s been a rough year for the family,” while discussing what her family thought about the film during a Tuesday, Sept. 24, appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“We started off the year with Drive-Away Dolls,” explained the actress, referring to the thriller released in February that finds her and Geraldine Viswanathan’s characters in the middle of a criminal plot after discovering a mysterious item inside the trunk of their rented car while on a road trip.
“My mom came to that premiere, and we get out of the movie, and she’s like, ‘My friends can’t see this movie. My sisters can’t see this movie. No one can see this movie,’ ” continued Qualley.
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The actress said that when Kinds of Kindness was released in June, she prevented seeing a similar reaction from her father by begging him not to see it. Qualley starred alongside a star-studded cast that included Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Hunter Schaefer in the Yorgos Lanthimos-directed film.
“I had a nanny growing up, Julie Shelby, who’s, like, youth group minister, super Christian, sweet Southern lady,” continued Qualley. “You know, when she used to take me to the mall, she would, like, shield my eyes when we passed Abercrombie & Fitch advertisements.”
After host Jimmy Fallon asked if “she saw this movie,” Qualley hilariously responded, “So she texted me yesterday, and she was like, ‘You should have warned me.’ ”
“She was there the whole time being like, ‘Oh, God help her, please. Bless her soul. Lord have mercy. Bless all of our souls. Forgive us for our sins,’ ” joked Qualley.
After Fallon said that her former nanny has to be proud of her performance, Qualley said, “I’ve asked a lot of everyone this year, and I’m sorry.”
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The Substance is in theaters now.