Demi Moore Remembers Having a ‘Sober Companion’ During St. Elmo Fire

1985: Actress Demi Moore shown standing, wearing a fringed, leather coat.


Demi Moore gets candid about her path to stardom from a young age in a new documentary.

Andrew McCarthy BOYS, which had its premiere at the Tribeca Festival, is a retrospective documentary about the so-called Brat Pack that includes interviews with 1980s icons like Moore, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Jon Cryer, Lea Thompson, Timothy Hutton and more .

McCarthy, 61, reunites with Moore and several of his teammates from the 1985 classic St. Elmo’s Fire to travel down memory lane more than 40 years after the term Brat Pack was coined in a new York magazine article written by David Blum.

“I was so afraid of failing, afraid of losing and so desperate to fit in and belong,” Moore, now 61, said of filming St. Elmo’s Fire. “My need to please was definitely on high alert.”

Additionally, a “sober companion” was provided for her 24 hours a day, she reveals: “They paid to have a sober companion with me 24/7 for the entire shoot. »

(Left-Right:) Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Mare Winningham, Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy in “St Elmo’s Fire.”

Colombia/Kobal/Shutterstock


McCarthy responds to his revelation with surprise. “Have they? I didn’t even notice it,” he said.

Director Joel Schumacher, Moore continues, “took a risk” when casting the film, co-written with Carl Kurlander, about a college clique who hung out in a Washington, D.C., bar. “They could have easily found someone else,” she said.

“Because it’s not like I had a draw at the box office. You know, we were just getting started. I had nothing that really justified him staying by my side.

Moore detailed his journey with drug and alcohol abuse – both during his Hollywood appearance in General Hospital and later, during her marriage to Ashton Kutcher – in her 2019 memoir Upside down. That year she said The New York Times she had maintained years of sobriety.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Demi Moore on May 29.

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic


In her PREGNANTS In an interview with McCarthy, Moore recalled “going through treatment” at a rehab center where the staff objected to her starting work on St. Elmo’s Fire. “They said, ‘What’s more important to you, the movie or your life?’ And I said, ‘The movie!’ »

At the time, she adds, “I had no value for myself.”

Moore and McCarthy also discuss feeling “irritated” by the widespread use of the term Brat Pack in the press. “I just felt like it didn’t represent us and it was a really limited perspective,” says the Ghost star.

“The fact that this (term) came out and tried to diminish us was also an opportunity to rise above it, to say, ‘No, I am much more than that.’ »

Following its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, PREGNANTS will premiere on Hulu on June 13.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *