The Wildest Ways the 'Hustlers' Stars Prepped for the Film

Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu and Cardi B on the wildest ways they prepared for the new film

The women of Hustlers left it all on the dance floor.

Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart and the stars of the film, in theaters now, held nothing back when it came to preparing for their roles as strippers who work to get the upper hand on their Wall Street clients. Here are some of the craziest, funniest and most painful ways they got ready for the big screen.

J.Lo’s Pole Dancing Pain

Lopez had to master the pole for Hustlers, and a YouTube vlog showed the prep was “just as hard as anything I’ve ever learned,” the actress revealed, pointing out the cuts and bruises on her legs. After shooting her solo pole dancing scene in the club, Lopez, 50, was so proud, she “[felt] like crying.”

Constance’s Christmas Trip

When it came to prepping for her role as a new stripper in the film, Wu took no days off — not even Christmas Eve. “I went to a lot of strip clubs in San Francisco — that’s what I spent my Christmas Eve doing,” Wu, 37, revealed in Vulture‘s oral history of the film. “I went with two of my guy friends, and we went to five different clubs. It was so f—– fun. And nobody knew who I was. I’m not really that famous. Also nobody expects this sitcom mother of three boys to be in a strip club.”

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J.Lo and A-Rod’s Strip Club Visits

Wu wasn’t the only one who wanted to get in some research before the film. Writer-director Lorene Scafaria told Vulture that Lopez enlisted fiancé Alex Rodriguez for strip club trips. “She was able to give me some … insights,” Scafaria said. In order to master the art herself, the actress had poles installed in her homes, her trainer Johanna Sapakie told PEOPLE.

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Lili’s Sickening Stunt

Reinhart’s character reacts to stress by, well, puking. The 22-year-old Riverdale star had to get used to a little fake vomit for the role, but it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. “It was crushed animal crackers and Sprite. It tasted like leftover animal crackers,” she told Coveteur. “Mushy food really grosses me out, so that was my biggest fear … like, actually making me want to throw up from putting that in my mouth.”

Lili Reinhart. George Pimentel/Getty Images

Cardi B Facing Her Fears

The rapper’s heart was “pumping fast” when it came time to shoot the scene where she gives Jennifer Lopez a lap dance. “Like, ‘Oh, my God, I gotta rub my vagina on them?’ ” she recalled to Access of her nerves. “Because that’s how you really give a real lap dance … That’s how you work the clock.” Cardi, 26, who used to be a stripper herself, faced her fears and crushed the performance.