Electro Pulse
Article from Entertainment Weekly.
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With a potent one-two punch of futuristic fisticuffs and good old-fashioned sexiness, "Dark Angel"'s Jessica Alba is giving Fox its greatest sci-fi success since "The X-Files." Entertainment Weekly talks to Alba about wielding her beauty and transforming her body for her super-powered character, and the 12 million viewers who tune in to watch her each week.
The star of the first TV series cocreated and executive-produced by James "King of the World" Cameron is only 19 years old, yet already she grasps the fundamental principle of prime-time programming. "Guys are visually stimulated," she explains. "They're easy to manipulate. All you have to do is dress up in a sexy outfit. Girls just have this power over guys. Guys are sort of stupid that way."
Cameron and co-creator Charles Eglee spent more than a year scouring casting agencies and college campuses, auditioning close to a thousand actresses before they viewed Alba's video. "She didn't look that beautiful to me when I first saw her on tape," Cameron says. "She wasn't the ravishing beauty we now know her to be. And she wasn't particularly physically fit. But there was something about her--an attitude, a sass--that made me keep thinking of her."
Alba was willing to transform her body to prepare for her "Dark Angel" role, lifting weights and doing cardio, gymnastics and motorcycle and kung fu training several days a week.
"I've broken ribs doing harness jumps, messed up my hips doing kicks. But I have a lot more confidence now. I'm less scared. When I walk around I know that if someone attacked me, at least I'd be able to defend myself. I could probably take out an eyeball. Not that I'm going to abuse what I've learned. I'm not going around kicking ass. But it's nice to know I can."