When Demi Moore arrived nearly eight months pregnant for the initial table read of “A Few Good Men” in 1991, her co-star Tom Cruise appeared noticeably uneasy. “I think Tom was quite embarrassed,” the 62-year-old actress shared at the New Yorker Festival, as reported by People. “Personally, I felt alright about it. I was moving around, you know? But it was clear he found it a bit awkward.”
Moore and the 63-year-old “Mission: Impossible” actor began filming their roles as JAG lawyers in Rob Reiner’s legal drama starting in October 1991, just three months after Moore and her then-husband Bruce Willis welcomed their second daughter, Scout. “I was going to be in a military uniform, so I probably over-prepared and started working out to get in shape even before she was born,” Moore, who reportedly earned $2 million for her role, confessed. “I hiked for two and a half hours the day my water broke, went on a 24-mile bike ride, and even danced at a reggae club—hence why she arrived two and a half weeks early.”
The Golden Globe-winning actress now looks back in awe at how she managed to balance “breastfeeding” with “blocking and rehearsing a scene” while portraying Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway on the set. “There were so many things that just didn’t make sense to me, and I wanted to challenge that by asking, ‘Why not? Why can’t you have both?'” Demi stated during her appearance at Webster Hall in Manhattan. “However, I think that mindset also led me to put a lot of pressure on myself to prove it was possible.”
The critically-acclaimed courtroom thriller, based on Aaron Sorkin’s 1989 Broadway play, earned four Oscar nominations and amassed $243.2M at the global box office from a $40M budget. The ensemble cast also included Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Pollak, J. T. Walsh, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Kiefer Sutherland. Moore (born Guynes) welcomed three daughters – Rumer, 37; Scout, 34; and Tallulah, 31 – during her 11-year marriage to the retired 70-year-old movie star, which amicably ended in 2000.
Tom (born Thomas Mapother IV) didn’t welcome children of his own until he and second wife Nicole Kidman adopted their 32-year-old daughter Bella in December 1992 after suffering a traumatizing miscarriage. The Substance star will next reprise her role as grieving widow Cami Miller in the 10-episode second season of Paramount+ oil rig drama Landman, which premieres November 16.
Taylor Sheridan’s small-screen adaptation of Christian Wallace’s 2019 Boomtown podcast also stars Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, Andy Garcia, and Michael Peña. Demi will also portray a ‘cutthroat fashion maven’ in Boots Riley’s 2026 sci-fi shoplifting comedy I Love Boosters alongside LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Keke Palmer, Eiza González, Naomi Ackie, and Taylour Paige. Moore will also soon team up with Colman Domingo to play interracial couple Betty and Barney Hill, who get abducted by aliens in Roger Ross Williams’ 1961-set romance Strange Arrivals, based on the podcast from Toby Ball.