Los Angeles, Sep 27 (IANS): Actress Constance Wu was on a lookout for a "deeply lonely" character, and was glad she got to do it with "Hustlers".

Wu essays role of Destiny in the movie, which also stars Jennifer Lopez.

"I had been looking to play a character who was deeply lonely, because of how our culture causes such loneliness," Wu said.

"We need stories about that. Destiny is so beautiful to me because of her solitude, and the ways she tried to pretend her way out of it seemed counter intuitive, but also so very human," she added.

There were many challenges awaiting the actors who portray the exotic dancers.

"My muscles have never been so sore as when I trained on that pole," Wu said while describing her experiences while training to learn the precise and specific moves.

Directed by Lorene Scafaria, the heist thriller is based on a 2015 "New York" magazine article by Jessica Pressler. The film is about a group of strippers in New York City who begin to drug stock traders and business honchos who visit their club, in order to steal their money. The story is set against the backdrop of the 2008 recession.

"Lorene was the right filmmaker for 'Hustlers' for so many reasons. Because she treated each character as a human, not an archetype/caricature. Because she is very plugged into the culture. Because it wasn't about the male gaze; it wasn't about any gaze at all. Lorene goes deeper than the surface level of a gaze. She gets into the heart, the guts," said the actress.

About her role, Wu said: "Destiny's mother abandoned her when she was very young, so she has trust issues. She hasn't let a lot of people in. The lack of meaningful relationships with women in her family life makes Destiny long for female friendship so much greater."

"Hustlers", which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival this year, also stars Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo and Cardi B. It opened in India on September 27. It is brought to India by PVR Pictures.