Australian actress Rebel Wilson has revealed she used her law degree to convince the Motion Picture Association of America to change the rating of her upcoming film, The Hustle.

The comedy, which also stars Anne Hathaway, is a remake of the 1988 film, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, starring Steve Martin, and Michael Caine.

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Wilson said the film had initially earned an R-rating from the MPAA.

But she used her Bachelor of Laws degree from UNSW Sydney to fight for her film.

“As the producer, I’m like ‘no, this is definitely a PG film’. So I represented the film in the MPAA arbitration,” she said.

“Basically it’s very hard for movies to win these arbitrations.”

Camera Icon Wilson appeared on The Graham Norton show to spruik the movie. Credit: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

She told host Graham Norton that her main point, among many, was that it “sexist to give our movie an R-rating when the original that starred two men was given PG13”.

Wilson said she also did an analysis between male and female comedies and the language used.

“I said The Hustle has five references to the female anatomy but the PG movie Anchorman has nine references to male anatomy,” she said, before listing them, much to the amusement of the audience.

She said the jury deliberated for less than five minutes before declaring her the winner.

The Hustle hits cinemas in May.