Usher worried he was too old to play himself in glorious 'Hustlers' cameo
There comes a time in every Hustlers showing when audiences must lose their shit, collectively, completely, and with no hope of return.
Yes, I'm talking about the moment when "motherfucking Usher" shows up at the club.
Appearing as a 2008 version of himself, the singer-songwriter cameos in this Robin Hood-esque tale of strippers besting their clients. A deadly combination of nostalgia, bravado, and sex appeal (with thematic resonance to boot), Usher's brief Hustlers appearance is already being called the best celebrity cameo of the year — and with good reason.
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"It was our biggest day on set," director and writer Lorene Scafaria recalls for Mashable. "Of course, we had 300 extras, we had a crane, and you have got to bring out the green lasers for Usher. We had all the girls on stage dancing. Honestly, I had tears in my eyes because it felt like a Renaissance painting. I just couldn't believe how gorgeous it was to see them all up there together in front."
"We had 300 extras, we had a crane, and you have got to bring out the green lasers for Usher."
Stars Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu appear alongside Cardi B, Lizzo, and countless other supporting players as Usher floats into the scene, a perfect time capsule of late-aughts club culture. (In this reporter's screening, the overwhelming perfection of it all was enough to send typically stony critics into a frenzy of involuntary screaming and "Love in This Club" karaoke.)
According to Scafaria, it was just as much fun to create the iconic moment as it was to watch — although she knew from the start it was a long shot.
"I wrote him into the script, so miracles happen I guess," she jokes. "I knew I wanted to blow out the riding high period of 2007 to 2008 before the crash. I knew I wanted it to take off, to celebrate this time period when we all thought we were living the high life without knowing what was about to happen. It just felt like Usher needed to be a part of that."
Scafaria says that J.Lo's connection to music industry giants like Usher made it "a lot easier" to achieve dream casting. But even after Lopez pulled strings, Usher had concerns about the appearance.
"I know he had some reservations about whether or not he looked like himself in 2008. Of course, he looks exactly the same as he ever did!" Scafaria recounts, laughing over the practically immortal pop icon who will turn 41 in October.
"Well, his hair was different," Scafaria notes. "So there was a day where I was sending Usher pictures of himself in hats and saying, 'See? You look like yourself in 2008!'"
Eventually, Usher agreed to do the role and the magnificent scene made its way to audiences.
"I just feel so lucky and grateful that he came to play," Scafaria adds. "I think everybody had a great time that day, and it was obviously a lot of fun to throw it out."
Presumably, almost as fun to throw out as the dozens of twenty-dollar bills in that scene — which, according to Constance Wu in an interview with Thrillist, were all just as real as the man making it rain.
Hustlers is now playing in theaters.
