She’s played her share of otherworldly and comic book characters: a dark angel, an invisible woman and a stripper with a gritty past. For Complex, sultry star Jessica Alba slips out of her superhero persona and into something more comfortable.

INTERVIEW BY CHRIS CONNOLLY PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT MAXWELL

DO YOU SEE YOURSELF MARRYING HIM?

Jessica Alba: [Pauses] Yes.

HAVE YOU DISCUSSED IT WITH HIM, OR WILL HE BE SURPRISED TO READ THIS?

Jessica Alba: No, it’s not a surprise. I think all in due time. Everything will happen when you’re ready. But I don’t feel comfortable talking about my relationship.

TOO LATE! DID YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SUPERHERO GROWING UP?

Jessica Alba: I loved He–Man. Remember He–Man and She–Ra? I liked Thundercats, but I loved He–Man. I had Skeletor’s whole dungeon thing.

YOU HAD ACTION FIGURES?

Jessica Alba: Yes.

AND YOU’VE BEEN AN ACTION FIGURE, RIGHT?

Jessica Alba: Yes.

HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN IN THE TUB AND HAD YOURSELF BATTLE SKELETOR? OR, MORE APTLY, MERMAN?

Jessica Alba: No. There’s kind of a disconnect with all that stuff. I guess I just look at it as work.

SPEAKING OF WORK, WORD IS FOR YOUR ROLE AS A DANCER IN HONEY YOU TOOK SIX HOURS OF DANCE A DAY. WERE YOU SIMILARLY DEDICATED IN PREPARING TO PLAY A STRIPPER?

Jessica Alba: You know, I was terrified! I looked at the drawings of Nancy in Sin City and I was like, Whoa! That girl has some knockers! Plus she was in boots and naked and flipping a cowboy rope around. I didn’t understand how all of that was going to happen, to be honest with you.

SO HOW DID IT HAPPEN?

Jessica Alba: Well, I didn’t have a choreographer. And that made me scared. Like I said, I’m a bit of a goon so when left to my own devices I tend to do stupid stuff. Knowing me, I’d be on stage and my chaps would split or my top would come off.

HEAVEN FORBID!

Jessica Alba: I know, right? So I went to a lot of strip clubs and got a lot of music and listened to it alone. I got a lasso and listened to the songs and twirled my rope to the different rhythms.

YES, GO ON.

Jessica Alba: I started out clothed, but then as I got more comfortable I danced in shorts and boots and then in a bra and underwear.

NICE. SO IS CASH GLAD YOU PUT IN ALL THIS WORK?

Jessica Alba: [Laughs] No comment. Home // GIRLS // COVER GIRLS // Jessica Alba