Credit: STX
The Golden Globe-nominated actor has revealed why she finds it difficult to watch herself on screen.
Constance Wu hasn’t watched herself on screen since Crazy Rich Asians.
Wu received critical acclaim for her performance as Chinese-American economic professor Rachel Chu in the blockbuster film, which became the highest-grossing rom-com of the last decade and the sixth highest-grossing ever.
And yet, she found watching herself on screen so difficult that she hasn’t done so since – and yes, that includes her performance in Hustlers.
Appearing on Live With Kelly And Ryan this week, Wu explained that she had decided to stop watching herself on screen and “focus on the present” after finding she was too hard on herself.
“The last movie I saw of mine was Crazy Rich Asians,” Wu said. “I didn’t watch my talk show appearances or Fresh Off The Boat or Hustlers. 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.”
Hustlers, one of the most talked-about films of last year, is loosely based on the true story of a group of strip club employees who drugged rich Wall Street businessmen, scamming them out of thousands of dollars. Wu plays the sweet-yet-steely protagonist, Destiny, who is taken under the wing of veteran Ramona, played by Jennifer Lopez.
Credit: Universal
In September, Wu told Vulture how she prepared for the role, saying, “I went to a lot of strip clubs in San Francisco – that’s what I spent Christmas Eve doing.”
She added, “I went with two of my guy friends and we went to five different clubs. I was so fucking fun. And nobody knew who I was. I’m not really that famous. Also nobody expects this sitcom mother of three boys to be at strip clubs.
“I installed a pole in my living room. I took pole classes; I took private coaching sessions. And this was all stuff I paid for by myself before we even started the movie. I became friends with a couple of strippers.”
Wu’s comments are so relatable: we all tend to be our own harshest critic. If only she could see herself through our eyes though, because from where we are standing, she is absolutely killing it.
Image: STX
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