‘THE TRUTH ABOUT US’ J.Lo dishes on her sexy new role and her romance with A-Rod
The star of ‘Hustlers’ dishes on her latest movie and her winning romance with the baseball legend
Jennifer Lopez was in unfamiliar territory filming her latest role. And that’s not just because the singer-actress had to wind her body around a stripper’s pole for her turn as Ramona in Hustlers (in cinemas Oct. 10). The movie centres on strippers who scam Wall Street high-flyers out of their cash. For someone who has built a career on playing mostly lovable ladies,
Ramona was, well, out of character.
“The darker side of her was something that I had to get into, in a way, because I tried to live my life so good and by the book and doing the right things,” Lopez, 50, tells WHO. “But this was a character who was doing mean, illegal things and hurting people, and I got sick to my stomach the first time I watched [the film] because it’s so far from who I am.”
Here, a candid Lopez chats about stripping and turning 50, and spills on what she loves about fiancé Alex Rodriguez.
You went to strip clubs for your research for Hustlers. What did you learn? LOPEZ First of all, I love observing and
I loved seeing how certain girls went up there and just phoned it in, and certain girls went up there and they were the star of the night. I talked to a lot of the girls, and they were like, “I’m proud of my body. What is there to be ashamed of ?” One girl was a single mum and one girl was in college – [for her] it was like an addiction. She goes, “Sometimes
I go home with 40 dollars, sometimes I go home with five thousand.” So, it’s like going to the casino – you just might win. That was an interesting kind of mindset for [her character] Ramona. I thought, she’s a gambler. She’s a hustler. She knows how to talk to people. She knows how to win the room.
How tough was it learning the art of stripping and pole dancing?
LOPEZ When I spoke to [co-star] Cardi B and told her I was learning to pole dance, she said, “It took me years to get great at it,” and I knew I only had six weeks, so I buckled down and cried a little bit as I was doing it, thinking about how much it was going to hurt. And that the bruise on the bruise was going to hurt. But I still had to do it again every day!
Did you practise a lot of the stripper techniques on your fiancé, Alex? LOPEZ When I first started learning how to do the pole dancing, the instructor is like, “First of all, you have to take off a lot of your clothes, because your skin has to stick to the pole.” And I was like, “Are you f--king kidding me? I don’t even know you!” Meanwhile, Alex is in the house, and sees me only in my bra and panties, and I put on a little pair of shorts and he starts filming and immediately posts it! I say, “What are you doing? I don’t even know what I’m doing yet!” He’s like, “It’s great, don’t worry, it’s just a tease!” As I got better and better, he enjoyed watching me. Should women worry if their husbands go to strip clubs? LOPEZ Should you worry if your man goes to strip clubs? Yes, worry! I don’t want it! What was it like getting engaged? Did you see it coming and are you looking forward to the big day? LOPEZ Obviously, I’m looking forward to it. We don’t have any concrete plans right now, but did I see it coming? I think Alex and I had a connection from the very beginning and maybe could see a future for ourselves. And we talked about it a few times. But when he proposed it was definitely a surprise for me.
Why do things work so well between you and Alex?
LOPEZ We love each other, and we love being around each other, and we have a lot of respect for each other. I think it’s a big deal in a relationship, especially when you’re both strong people who have two big lives, that you have to be there for each other and show up. That means his ball games and my concerts and all that stuff. I love how he constantly shows up for me in every way – emotionally and physically. And that’s a beautiful thing for our family and for our kids.
Given both you and Alex are very busy, how do you spend quality time together? LOPEZ We steal moments, I think. Even last week, we went away on a little vacation for four days. And he had work to do on that vacation and I can’t tell him not to work because then the next thing I know, I am picking up a script and trying to make notes on it.
What have you learnt about men from making Hustlers?
LOPEZ That some are living a double life! And they will go to these strip clubs and do these things and their wives will not know anything about it. But, you know, you can’t be so naive. You have to understand the psychology of men a little bit. It’s different from women. And I think that’s what occurred to me the most. Like, wow, there is a whole culture of people who really do this and this is going on every day.
You had a big birthday recently. Congratulations on turning 50! Can you take a break soon?
LOPEZ It’s the curse of being someone who
“He constantly shows up for me”
is very creative. Even when you are relaxing, it’s almost like that’s when you get the most creative, because you have a moment to breathe. So it’s a blessing and a curse in a sense, because you are obsessed with it and you don’t stop thinking about it. I didn’t sleep for weeks before [the tour] because I would go to rehearse all day and then I would come home and then be like, “This is what we need to do.” And yes, I try to relax, but I am who I am and that’s what I love to do and that’s why I do it. So you have no desire to slow down any time soon?
LOPEZ Not right now. I have so many great opportunities at this point in my life. It’s the best that it’s ever been for me. And it’s just getting better and better.