10 Actors Who Just Recently Did Their Best Work Ever

10. Demi Moore - The Substance

Everyone loves a good comeback story. This year, it's Demi Moore's turn. 

It's hard not to draw parallels between Moore and the character she plays in The Substance, a body horror masterpiece that's a strong contender for the year's best film. In that film, Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, a has-been movie star who's fired from a fitness show after turning 50. She resorts to trying a dangerous, experimental drug that allows her to give birth to a younger, more 'perfect' version of herself (Margaret Qualley).

Demi Moore was once the world's highest-paid actress but her career has stalled in recent times and, now in her early 60s, she's been underserved by Hollywood for years. As such, this was already a clever, meta piece of casting for the lead role; what makes it even better is that Moore's performance is pretty much the best she's ever given. 

An intense part that required Moore to do lengthy nude scenes and wear layers and layers of grotesque make-up, this was a brave and heavy part for her to play, and she absolutely threw herself into it, portraying Sparkle's insecurities and internalized ageism and misogyny with gusto and pathos. Even when smothered under prosthetics, the power of her performance always shines through, and the fact that she's getting tipped as a possible Oscar nominee says it all. After all, the Academy hates horror. 

Perhaps we are about to see a career revival for Demi Moore, and it seems the film world would be all the better for it.