J.Lo considered stripping when she was a young, struggling dancer.

(opens in new tab)In a new interview for W Magazine's (opens in new tab)Best Performances of 2020 feature, Lopez reveals that at one point in her life she almost considered stripping as a way to make ends meet as a young dancer. It's a roundabout admission, considering that Lopez's most acclaimed role to date in her career is as stripper and fraud leader Ramona Vega in 2019's Hustlers.

"There was a moment in my life when friends who were also dancers told me how they made thousands of dollars in New Jersey clubs. They said, 'You don't have to go topless,'" Lopez explained.

"When I was broke and eating pizza every day, it sounded so good, but I didn't do it."

Lopez explained.

Lopez has often said that the depth of Ramona's character encouraged her to take the risk of accepting the role in Loreen Scafaria's film.

"I was a little nervous about doing this film because I had never played such a dark and complex character. I liked that Ramona and the other strippers I played were seen as equals with the Wall Street men who were their patrons."

"Ramona reminded me of everyone's lover, who is exciting but can get you into trouble. I always miss that friend when she's gone, but when we get together, I worry that we might get into some crazy situation. That's Ramona."

Since the release of The Hustler, Lopez has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress at both the Screen Actors Guild Awards and this weekend's Golden Globe Awards (opens in new tab). Lopez called the experience of playing Ramona "empowering" (opens in new tab), an acting opportunity so appealing that she did not accept compensation for starring in and producing the film. (That's right, she says she did it for free.)

"I've never been motivated by money. I want to be a great actress, a great singer, a great dancer. I want to make movies, I want to make music." And money came with it."

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