Lindsay Lohan gets back to work... as a stripper

Lindsay Lohan might be avoiding the club scene in real life after more than a month in rehab, but onscreen, she's back to her wild girl ways.

The troubled actress has taken on the role of a pole dancer in the upcoming thriller, I Know Who Killed Me.

During filming, Lindsay said: "I've been in pole dancing lessons, every day for four hours. I have bruises all over. That's why I haven't worn shorts."

She says she was uncomfortable filming her first ever sex scene: "Did I go naked for it? No, I had a bra on. I told my mom about it and she screamed! I was actually so nervous but then I was fine. It's weird."

Former child star Lindsay Lohan is set to steam up the screen in her latest film

Pole dancing once proved popular with Lindsay off screen too - she notoriously joined Kate Moss in a saucy dance session at New York club Scores last year.

The 21-year-old actress claims since leaving rehab her life has been transformed, and she now relies on meditation, "serenity prayers" and Machiavelli to help her through troubled times.

She told Tatler magazine: "It changed my life."

"I didn't have a good grip on it and I needed to get my s*** together. I was going out too much and I had too much pressure on my shoulders. I was not that happy and I needed to go to that place to be happy.

The actress trained for four hours a day for the pole dancing role
"There were therapy classes to talk about relationships and family issues and to hear other people's stories too. They teach you to give to other people and I walked away with the benefit of that.

"If I get stressed out I say a serenity prayer. I meditate too."

She now travels everywhere with a copy of Machiavelli's The Prince, written in 1513, which she uses as a self-help guide.

"I was going out with someone and they said I should read Machiavelli and I was like, 'Nah', and then I was, 'Ok, I'll read it', and now it is always with me," she explained.

Despite her stints in rehab, Lohan insisted she will not give up her social life, insisting it does not conflict with her acting career.

"Look, I want to win Oscars. I want Academy Awards. I am serious about what I do and what I want to achieve. I detest being known as a party girl. Even that term 'partying' is such an annoyance," she said.

"I'm a 21-year-old actress who loves to act and enjoys spending time with her friends because I am a very social person. Why am I chastised for that? I've been a dancer all my life and it doesn't kill you to go out and dance."

Elsewhere in the interview, Lindsay revealed she is terrified of sleeping alone.

"I hate being alone at night. Being alone scares me. I'm fine during the day and love driving alone but I don't like sleeping alone. I always ask one of my girlfriends to stay over with me," she confessed.

She added: "I don't think I've ever gone on a date. I don't like the word - it's so old-fashioned and it freaks me out. There have only been two people in my life I really cared for. When you're with the right person you just fall in love."

To that end, it looks like her sometime romance with reality television lothario Calum Best has cooled - he was spotted cosying up to a mystery blonde on Malibu beach