Jessica Alba Shares How Acting Masculine Helped Her Avoid Hollywood Predators

Jessica Alba spoke about her experience in Hollywood and how she was objectified as a sex symbol. The star acknowledged it was a strategy to promote the films she appeared in.

She also revealed how she projected "masculine energy" to ward off predators in the industry. The actress rose to fame when she starred in "Dark Angels." Her co-star on the project, Jensen Ackles, once claimed that Alba was "horrible" to work with.

Keep on reading to learn more.

On a recent episode of the HBO Max program "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?" actress Jessica Alba talked about her experience growing up in Hollywood as a sex symbol. Alba also reflected on her early career in the 2000s and admitted to occasionally using her sexuality to her advantage.

The "Fantastic Four" alum said she recognized it as a business decision and a strategy necessary to help promote specific projects she was in. "I guess I understood that I needed to help sell the product. And they sell it how they do, so I understood it as a business decision and a strategy," she said.

However, Alba also disclosed that although she could distance herself from the approach, she began to feel uneasy over time. "I don't think that there's anything wrong with owning your sexuality. I just, frankly, at that time, I was not that person. I was very nervous about all of that, and I was quite uncomfortable in my own skin," she explained, per Insider.

Alba spoke about how she deliberately projected "masculine energy" to protect herself from being "preyed on" by Hollywood predators.

She explained that it wasn't until she became a mother and had her first child in June 2008, when she was 27, that she started seeing herself as a woman and embracing her femininity and power.

"It wasn't until I became a mom that I really started to even see myself as a woman or a sexual being or someone who owned her power and her femininity," the actress explained. She continued, "At that time, I felt like I was very much having to put up this armor of masculinity and masculine energy so I wouldn't, you know, be preyed on because there were a lot of predators in Hollywood from age 12 to 26."

According to the "Dark Angel" actress, there were many predators in Hollywood when she was between the ages of 12 and 26. She recalled swearing a lot and distancing herself from anyone who might have had ill intentions. "I was a warrior; I put up that energy. I was really tough, man. I curse like a sailor…I think I tried to make myself as unavailable as possible so that I wouldn't be taken advantage of," Alba said.

Like many others, Alba was a child actor as she made her Hollywood debut at 12 with a small role as a camper in the 1994 movie "Camp Nowhere." Her breakthrough came six years later when she starred as the main character, Max Guevara, in the science fiction teen drama series "Dark Angel," created by legendary filmmaker James Cameron and Charles Eglee.

In "Dark Angel," Alba played the role of Max, a female character who becomes a super-soldier after undergoing genetic enhancements experiments. Her portrayal of Max earned her widespread recognition, and she received multiple award nominations, including a Golden Globe.

The renowned actress has also starred in several hits over the years, such as "Honey," "Never Been Kissed," "Sin City," and "Fantastic Four," among others.

Jensen Ackles, who co-starred with Alba in "Dark Angel," had previously said that working with her was a "horrible" experience and that they often bickered with each other on set.

While appearing on the "Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum" podcast, Ackles acknowledged that the challenging nature of the show may have contributed to the tension and pressure that Alba was facing at the time. "She was under an immense amount of pressure on that show," he said.

Ackles affirmed that they have reconciled and are on good terms now.