Constance Wu made $600 while working undercover as a stripper
Once again, the Oscars messed up.
February 18, 2020 10:36 a.m. EST
February 21, 2020 11:00 p.m. EST
There’s going method and then there’s going really method. For her role as a stripper in 2019’s Hustlers, Constance Wu went really method. The actor spent months training to prepare for her role in the Lorene Scafaria film and that included installing a pole in her living room and spending one night working at a strip club, where she made $600. In Hollywood, actors have to pay their agents and managers a percentage of every job, but we’re hoping Wu kept every dollar she earned that day.Wu was a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday and revealed just how far she went in her research for Hustlers. “I did work at a strip club to get ready for Hustlers. I went undercover. I gave lap dances to strangers,” said Wu, who took a few moments to convince Clarkson that she wasn’t making a joke.[video_embed id='-1']RELATED: Constance Wu says 'I don't think anything through'[/video_embed]“I’m not lying! I made $600, my friend,” said Wu, adding “I am not being funny, and it was not funny.” The Crazy Rich Asians actor revealed that she changed her appearance for the undercover experience, hoping to fit into her new surroundings. “I put fake tattoos on my neck, changed my hair. You can’t duplicate the first time you walk into a club and say, ‘Hey, I’d like to have a job here,’ and then you go work that night.”Wu added that she got in extra practice ahead of filming by installing a pole in her home, but quickly learned in the club that while dancing ability is important, it’s not everything. “When you’re naked, they don’t care if you’re that good,” said Wu. “There’s someone for everyone.”Wu expertly pulled off her Hustlers role as Destiny, a single mother trying to support her grandmother and daughter, but the actor doesn’t know that. During her February 11 appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Wu revealed that she’s yet to watch the film, admitting that the last time she saw herself on screen was in 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians. “It was watching that movie, after that experience, that I stopped watching anything,” said Wu. “I didn’t watch my talk show appearances or Fresh Off the Boat or Hustlers,” she continued. “Just because I thought, you know, I want to focus on the present and not be self-critical and think too much, dwell too much on the past.”Although Hustlers was snubbed at this year’s Academy Awards, the film earned both critical praise and commercial success. Opening the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, Hustlers has an 87 per cent freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $157 million worldwide at the box office.Wu is currently wrapping up her final season as matriarch Jessica Huang on Fresh Off The Boat and is confirmed to reprise her role as Rachel Chu in the highly anticipated sequel to Crazy Rich Asians. The hugely successful romantic comedy made $238.5 million worldwide and the sequel will reunite Wu with director John Chu for China Rich Girlfriend, based on the second book in author Kevin Kwan’s series. The success of Crazy Rich Asian’s leads, including Wu, Henry Golding, and Gemma Chan, has pushed off the release of the second film, which is currently scheduled for a 2021 release date.
