I’ve always been drawn to strong female roles: Jessica Alba

Actor feels it is important to essay flawed women characters and show they can still be heroes

Actor Jessica Alba always gravitates towards strong female roles. She feels it is very important to essay flawed women characters and show that they can still be heroes, reported Business Standard.

"I have always been drawn to strong women in characters that I have played. You know, I dabbled in playing some characters that were a little more passive and I didn’t know I pulled it off that well to be honest," Alba said, when asked how important it is to present strong female role models on the silver screen.

"I naturally have that sort of, I guess that sort of approach and that’s my energy and my vibe. So I always think and I feel like when I started as an actress that was kind of my thing; like, why can’t a woman be strong and intelligent and self-sufficient at the same time.”

She continued, “You know, even if you are a woman that shouldn’t mean that you need to be weak and saved constantly.”

PHOTO: FILE

On the big screen, Alba has featured in Sin City, Fantastic Four and Into the Blue. She has also worked on TV shows such as Flipper, Dark Angel and The Spoils of Babylon. "I feel like I have always played those roles. Being a mother of a daughter, you realise how important or how impressionable media and pop culture can be on men. So, it’s just kind of makes the damage more important and add an executive producer to push that message forward and to make sure that we shape a show that has complex women that aren't perfect and that have flaws but can still be heroes," she stated.

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At present, the actress is earning plaudits for the police procedural drama L.A.’s Finest, which also stars Gabrielle Union. She is also backing the show as an executive producer. The show is aired in India on Zee Cafe.

"What drew me back in is really just being able to do something and collaborate with Gabrielle Union. She is a force in Hollywood and I have always respected her and when she took this franchise that she was a part of and she turned it into a real feminist show in a genre where you really don’t get to see women as lead," she mentioned.

PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/JESSICA ALBA

"That is exactly what drew me in. The show is really built around two women even with the action genre. There is comedy that is really fun and there are also moments where there is lots of drama and all of that. You never lose the fact that we are women and partners and we are in this together and we had each other's back.”

Alba feels that in entertainment and pop culture, one does not usually get to see two women who are strong and powerful in their own right. “In L.A’s Finest, the women have separate identities but they also support each other. And I think this is just a great commentary and something that will resonate with audiences across the globe," she concluded.

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