JESSICA ALBA

Tanned, blonde, mid-riff baring. Check, check, check. She’s who people think of when they use the phrase “just a pretty face”—but that’s exactly the misnomer Jessica Alba’s been trying to disprove since she came on the scene in James Cameron’s series Dark Angel. Sure, Into the Blue was a barely-concealed excuse to put her in a two-piece for the duration of a feature-length movie, but she was fearless in the noir hit Sin City—albeit, as a stripper. Okay, so maybe she’s not gotten very far in the serious actress department. But she’ll have the next 10 years to overcome her genetic gifts.

BENCICIO DEL TORO: So, you have to do some dancing in [Sin City]. Did you practice for that?

JESSICA ALBA: Yeah [Laughs]. When I got hired I talked to Robert [Rodriguez] and as like, “Should I talk to some choreographers? I can put together a routine if you give me some music, and that way I can duplicate it.” Bet he was like, “Yeeeah… Np. Did you see Salma Hayek’s dance in From Duck ‘Til Dawn? [1996]?” And I said, “yeah, that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!” And he said, “Well, I just put on some music, and she just dance.” But I was terrified. I’m not an extrovert. So, I just went to a bunch of strip clubs to do research. I would have to get a little tipsy, though, because it’s kind of intimidating talking to these women with incredible bodies who are writihing in front of you. But I learned some stuff from them. I hit about four strip clubs in L.A., two in new York, and two in texas.

DEL TORO: And aren’t you working with, like, a rope or a lasso, too?

ALBA: Yeah. I had a rope guy teach me how to twist it around like a lasso and stuff. I just spent every night in Texas in the Four Seasons in my underwear, knocking overlamps trying to lasso things.

Source: Interviewmagazine.com