aturally athletic,
Jessica Alba is a talented swimmer and a
PADI-certified scuba diver, as well as having trained in martial
arts, but incredibly, she'd had no dance training to speak
of
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aturally athletic,
Jessica Alba is a talented swimmer and a
PADI-certified scuba diver, as well as having trained in martial
arts, but incredibly, she'd had no dance training to speak
of
|
|
before winning the starring role of a choreographer/dancer in the feature
film Honey. In the months leading up to shooting, she took aerobics and exercise classes in addition to heavy duty dance training to get fully prepared. For Alba, who was inspired by films such as Flashdance while growing up in California, the hard work was worth it. She explains: "I've been waiting for a story like that. So Honey is a dream come true for me. This is a story people can identify with." Alba shot to fame in 2000 at the age of 19 when she landed the lead role in the TV sci-fi series Dark Angel. Playing a genetically-enhanced superhuman prototype who escapes from a secret facility, she was called on to karate chop and kick her way through two seasons of the popular show. In Honey, Alba plays an aspiring dancer whose dreams come |
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true when she's hired to choreograph some of the hottest acts
in hip-hop and R&B. But as quickly as the dream arrives, it
starts to dissolve, forcing Honey to rediscover her one true passion. Like Honey, Alba made the decision to attain her goal early in life, deciding to become an actress when she was just five. Alba studied with several acting coaches before landing her first job at the age of 12 in the feature film, Camp Nowhere. A regular role in Nickelodeon's The Secret World of Alex Mack followed. Jessica had setbacks along the way as well, with her part in the award-winning feature Leaving Las Vegas ending up on the cutting room floor. Not one to let disappointment stand in her way, she immediately bounced back with a regular role on the Australian-filmed TV series, Flipper. But it wasn't until Dark Angel that Jessica began to make waves. Since then, she's been listed on Maxim's Hot 100 Babe List more times than any other actress and has graced the covers of Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, Glamour and Seventeen. She's also a L'Or�al girl, with a worldwide endorsement contract. Helping Honey reach her dream, are protective best friend Gina (Joy Bryant) and boyfriend Chaz (8 Mile's Mekhi Phifer). It was Alba that suggested Phifer for the role. "His presence and his heart just glow through," says the actress.
Director Bille
Woodruff, a veteran of countless music videos who made his feature film directorial debut with
Honey, knew immediately that Alba would be perfect in the title role.
"It's obvious to anyone who meets her that Jessica is a very strong person, very opinionated and very direct. I knew she had the
�Alexandra Heilbron
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strength and the stamina to pull this off," he says. He was drawn to the story himself because,
"The idea of Honey's journey got me excited. People often see these kinds of stories and relate them to their own lives. It would be a dream of mine to inspire a dream in a kid who sees this picture."