Margaret Qualley Says ‘The Substance’ Was ‘Outside My Comfort Zone’ (Exclusive)

Embodying her character in The Substance challenged Margaret Qualley to take new risks onscreen.

Qualley, 29, tells PEOPLE the provocative body-horror film, directed by Coralie Fargeat (Revenge), was “really outside of my comfort zone.”

“I guess, for me, it’s something I’ve really never done,” the actress says of playing Sue, a younger version of her costar Demi Moore‘s character, Elisabeth Sparkle, who’s hyper-sexualized throughout the film. “I think I’ve intentionally gone the other direction throughout my career.”

In The Substance, Qualley takes on the role of Sue, a more youthful clone of Moore’s aging actress who is created by an illicit serum. The film features nudity and plenty of hard to watch moments as the two women, who share one consciousness, inject themselves with the film’s titular serum.

“I knew it was going to be a big challenge for me,” The Maid star shares of the role. Qualley went on to add that the nudity in film “very much serves the purpose of this story.”

She continues, “It’s a road you have to go down in order to bring this to life. And I was excited about that challenge.”

Moore, 61, agrees. “It’s part of what makes it interesting and exciting, pushing yourself, because I think you in the end, gain more of yourself when you face that whatever might be an individual’s discomfort, fear. I don’t really look at it as fear as much as just vulnerability,” she says.

For Qualley, the film’s themes have a certain universality to them: Elisabeth and Sue are yearning for youth, fame and recognition — all things that are prized by society.

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“We’ve all chosen, highlighted different parts of ourselves to present to the world, for how you want people to see you,” the actress notes. “And not that many of Sue’s attributes fit the bill for the ones that I’m presenting to the world. But it doesn’t mean that they’re not somewhere inside of me.”

The Substance, which costars Dennis Quaid, is in theaters now.