Demi Moore reveals which role left her ‘absolutely terrified’ years before full-frontal Striptease nudity

Demi Moore has revealed her most terrifying role years before she shocked fans by going fully naked in Striptease.

The actress, 61, who recently broke her silence on missing out on an Oscar for The Substance, said her breakout role on General Hospital when she was just 19 in 1982 was the first moment she realized her acting dream could come true.

Moore played journalist Jackie Templeton on the show from 1982-1983 and the following year she shot to film fame in Blame It On Rio, followed by acclaimed turns in St. Elmo’s Fire and in 1986’s About Last Night.

She told People after being named the World’s Most Beautiful Person: ‘I think the first big moment that kind of gave me a little bit of encouragement of, wow, this could be possible, is when I got General Hospital because it was a real job on a show that was successful for a soap opera.

‘In fact, it was at a heightened state because Elizabeth Taylor had just been a guest on a soap opera. And literally it was a month before my 19th birthday. And so it was like a real job where I was going to be paid and have an actual salary. Meaning that I didn’t have to have another job. I could actually live by doing this thing that I loved and hoped I could do. So that was like the first moment to really kick it off.’

‘You know, I just was so excited for all of it. But if I’m looking at this photo, I think I was probably a little terrified also.’

Demi Moore has revealed her most terrifying role years before she shocked fans by going fully naked in Striptease – pictured in The Substance

The star memorably stripped off to play an exotic dancer in 1996’s Striptease

Moore hasn’t shied away from a full frontal nude scene – from playing a dancer in Striptease in 1996 to a 17th century Puritan in The Scarlet Letter in 1995.

She’s posed for her fair share of nude magazine covers too.

Moore appeared on the cover of the January 1981 issue of the adult magazine Oui, taken from a photo session in which she had posed completely naked.

In August 1991, Moore appeared nude on the cover of Vanity Fair seven months pregnant with the second of her three daughters.

The following year, Moore again appeared nude on the cover of Vanity Fair, this time modeling under the title Demi’s Birthday Suit.

Most recently, she posed nude on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar in October 2019. 

Speaking on her nude scenes in an interview with Variety on Tuesday she said: ‘One of the biggest misconceptions about me is that I loved my body.

‘The reality is, so much of it was me calling in certain projects that would give me an opportunity to help me overcome insecurities about my body.

The actress, 61, said her breakout role on General Hospital when she was just 19 in 1982 was the first moment she realized her acting dream could come true

Moore played journalist Jackie Templeton on the show from 1982-1983 and the following year she shot to film fame in Blame It On Rio, followed by acclaimed turns in St. Elmo’s Fire and in 1986’s About Last Night – pictured with Dawson Mays in 1982

The star shocked fans when she played FBI secretary turned stripper Erin Grant in the film

‘It was the same with the Vanity Fair covers; it was not that I loved it — it was about trying to free myself from the space of enslavement that I had put myself in.’

Moore recently opened up about her gut-wrenching Best Actress loss — and whether she still believes there’s a shot at Oscar gold down the line.

The Hollywood legend, who recently spoke out about ex-husband Bruce Willis’ battle with dementia, was widely expected to take home her first Academy Award for The Substance. 

Instead, the honor went to 26-year-old breakout star Mikey Madison for her gripping performance in Anora.

It marked Demi’s first real shot at the golden statue after a blockbuster career that saw her rise from Brat Pack royalty to become the highest-paid actress in Hollywood.

Now, just two months after the emotional night, Demi is reflecting on it all — and setting the record straight about how she really feels.

‘I really had the pleasure of getting to know Mikey Madison and think that she did an incredible performance,’ Demi began in her candid conversation with Time on Wednesday. ‘And really, it’s an odd thing for there to be a competition anyway. But if I had won, it would’ve been a completion to what had started.’

As for the possibility of another shot at Oscar glory, Demi didn’t rule it out. 

‘That would be nice,’ she quipped. 

Later, she added, ‘I can’t say I would be mad at it. The question is should I have won is really maybe certainly not the perspective of how I hold it because I didn’t, and I really do subscribe to this idea that everything in life is happening for me, not to me. 

‘I really had the pleasure of getting to know Mikey Madison and think that she did an incredible performance,’ Demi began in her candid conversation with Time on Wednesday; (pictured November) 

‘When I look at it through that lens, it allows me to step back and say, “What is this trying to give me?” And in that moment there was a lot was being projected that I would win, and so of course there’s disappointment. 

‘I also immediately recognize that there is something that is greater that I am to be in service to, even if I don’t know what that is, if there is a reason.’ 

In an earlier interview with Time, Demi confessed she had a feeling she’d lose to Mikey — even before the envelopes were opened.

‘I don’t know why I knew, but I did,’ the actress said. 

‘I was so centered and calm. I didn’t feel gutted. I didn’t feel any of those kinds of things. I just trusted, and am in trust of, whatever is going to unfold.’