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Harvey (played by Dennis Quaid), the producer who fires Elisabeth Sparkle from her long-running aerobics television show, represets the ruthless and impersonal nature of the entertainment industry. Although he doesn’t play a central role in The Substance, the results of his actions drive the entire story. Without his cruel and indifferent decision to remove Elisabeth, she would have had no impetus to turn to The Substance. Harvey reflects the industry's obsession with youth, its disregard for women as they grow older, and its cheerful willingness to discard those who no longer meet its standards. 

From the moment Harvey appears, the film presents him as someone who holds godlike power over Elisabeth’s career. He does not fire her due to any decline in talent or performance; from the phone call he makes in the bathroom, it’s clear that he’s just bored of her and feels the rest of America must be too. He delivers this decision without sympathy, actually laughing about the idea of keeping Elisabeth on as he decides her fate over the phone.  Harvey does not see Elisabeth as a person, but as a product that has lost its marketability. During the conversation where he fires her—delivered in revolting close-up as he covers prawns with mayonnaise and stuff them into his open mouth—he tells her that when women turn fifty, “it” all “just stops.”  

When Sue later auditions for Elisabeth’s former role, Harvey does not recognize her as the same woman. Instead, he immediately welcomes Sue, sweeping her into his arms as his newest and most profitable product. This moment reinforces his complete indifference to the personhood of the women he works with. He does not care who Sue is as a person; he cares that she is pneumatically youthful, taut, and bouncy in her metallic-pink playsuit. The difference between Harvey’s treatment of Elisabeth and Sue reflects Hollywood’s broader treatment of women. Actresses routinely see their careers decline as they age, while male actors continue securing leading roles well after their female counterparts recede.  

It’s unclear whether Harvey is actually acting out of personal malice. However, his motivations also don’t matter; his actions sustain a system that enforces inequality and profits from bald-faced prejudice. He has no interest in Elisabeth’s pain because it doesn’t affect his studio’s bottom line, and there’s no indication that he feels any guilt in his decision to replace her; to him, it’s not a difficult choice, merely the next logical step. Harvey’s role in the film does not involve change or growth. Indeed, Harvey remains alarmingly the same, as Dennis Quaid appears not to age or alter at all over the movie’s timeline. In a film filled with grotesque physical transformations and tragic psychological destruction, Harvey is permitted to play the same “role” as he always has while the women around him age and disappear. It’s a disgusting microcosm of the arc men’s careers in Hollywood take when compared to their female colleagues.  

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