Demi Moore reveals she got shingles and ‘lost 20 pounds’ while filming new horror movie

Demi Moore has opened up about the health ordeal she faced while making her new horror movie The Substance.

In the film, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in the summer and earned an 11-minute standing ovation, Moore, 61, plays Elisabeth, a Hollywood star who has been sidelined by the industry due to her age. Elisabeth then decides to undergo an experimental treatment that creates a younger version of herself, played by Maid star Margaret Qualley.

Working on the project, which was directed by Coralie Fargeat, was a full-on experience for both performers, and in an interview with The LA Times, Moore revealed that she was diagnosed with shingles during a break in filming.

“To give you an idea of the intensity, my first week that I actually had off, where it was just Margaret working, I got shingles,” she told the paper. “And I then lost, like, 20 pounds.”

Shingles is an infection that causes a painful rash, according to the NHS.

Anyone who has previously had chickenpox can develop shingles. After having chickenpox, the virus remains in the nerve cells of the body and can lie dormant for years until it is reactivated, causing shingles.