Sin City actor Jessica Alba has disclosed an ‘awful’ and ‘humiliating’ experience she endured for a role, which at one point made her question if she wanted to continue acting.
Alba, 44, has appeared in a range of projects, from the dramatic Beverly Hills, 90210 to Netflix’s thriller Trigger Warning. However, one role she revisited several times was that of Susan Storm, also known as the Invisible Woman.
Susan Storm is a central character in Marvel’s Fantastic Four series. Alba portrayed this character in the 2005 film of the same name and its 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. She also lent her voice to the character for the video game adaptation.
During her appearance at the Red Sea International Film Festival, Alba spoke about her upcoming projects. She also reflected on her experiences as a superhero when recalling her time with the Marvel series.
Alba recounted her ‘least favorite scene,’ where Storm is depicted as being completely naked on a bridge.
“I thought that was awful,” she expressed, according to Variety. “It was very humiliating in real life. I grew up with a pretty conservative family, and I am a pretty modest person. I dreaded that scene for weeks. I have a lot of whiplash from those days.”
This isn’t the first time Alba has highlighted challenging moments from the Fantastic Four series. She previously mentioned a scene in the 2007 sequel where she was criticized for her tears looking ‘too real’ and was reportedly advised to ‘be prettier’ while crying.
Alba reflected on the criticism, saying: “Then it all got me thinking: Am I not good enough? Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough? Do people hate them so much that they don’t want me to be a person? Am I not allowed to be a person in my work? And so I just said, ‘F**k it. I don’t care about this business anymore.'”
Despite these challenges, Alba did not give up on her acting career and shared this week how she still fondly remembers her time as Sue Storm.
She commented: “She was a woman I looked up to. She was very maternal and very kind, but also not a pushover; she spoke her mind. She had a great moral compass. No matter who you are, you can look up to her.”