Demi Moore reflects on her intense training for G. I. Jane. Moore played the U.S. military film in the 1997 film G.I. Jane, which was directed by Ridley Scott. In addition to Moore, G.I. Jane featured a leading cast including Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft, Jason Beghe, Daniel von Bargen, John Michael Higgins, Kevin Gage, and David Warshofsky. G.I. Jane remains one of the most notable roles in Moore’s career to date.
In an interview with Variety, Moore discusses the intense training that went into her time as G.I. Jane.
According to the former G.I. Jane actor, she was involved in a “two-week modified SEAL training” prior to acting in her role in G.I. Jane. This was intense training, in which Moore was only called be her character’s name, and not her real name. The training team did “sneaky things to really bring the reality of what the experience was like.” One day, they made Moore late so she could be publicly shamed. Check out the full quote from Moore below:
We did a two-week modified SEAL training, and it was me and 40 guys. And it was hardcore. They never called me by my real name, only by my character name. They did a lot of sneaky things to really bring the reality of what the experience was. I mean, they set me up to be a little late, then called me up in front of everybody, but that’s why you do it.
Why G.I. Jane Was Such An Important Role To Demi Moore’s Career
G.I. Jane Was Different Than The Actor’s Other Roles
Prior to G.I. Jane, Moore was most known for playing romantic interests as well as characters who were highly sexualized. Some of Moore’s key roles included Diana Murphy in Indecent Proposal, Marina Lemke in The Butcher’s Wife, and Erin Grant in Striptease. Combined with her experience as a model, Moore’s femininity and attractiveness was a highly-marketed part of her Hollywood persona, bleeding into her acting roles throughout the ’90s.
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G.I. Jane completely changed this for Moore. In the 1997 film, Moore was portrayed not as a source of conventional, hyper-feminized beauty, but as a strong, fighting woman. Her head was shaved for G.I. Jane, and she was given very little makeup. This gave audiences a chance to see Moore in an entirely different light. While G.I. Jane is unlike any other role in Moore’s career, its difference is what makes it one of her standout performances.
G.I. Jane is available to watch on Tubi and to rent via Prime Video.
One of Moore’s next roles was in 2003’s Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. This role kind of combined her G.I. Jane experience with her earlier roles, as it saw Moore playing both an action star and an alluring, seductive woman. In her upcoming work, Moore will take on one of her more interesting roles by leading the upcoming body horror film The Substance. In The Substance, Moore will play an aging actress who takes a black market drug that will make her appear younger, offering as a sort of meta critique of the high beauty standard world in which Moore was once immersed.
Source: Variety
