Thanks to BehrCat for this article :)

Article from Cinescape Sept/Oct issue, page 26
by Annabelle Villanueva

Faces of the Future

Take one glance at Jessica Alba and it's easy to see why she would be cast as Max, a genetically engineered superhuman in the TV series Dark Angel. With her soulful brown eyes, pillowy lips and lithe figure, the 19-year- old is virtually a poster child for Grade A DNA. "If indeed Max's genes have been culled from the entire human spectrum of DNA, she should look like the best of humanity," says Dark Angel executive producer Charles Eglee, who created the series with James Cameron. "And Jessica not only is an extremely gifted performer, she's amazing to look at."

Alba - whose previous credits include the horror flick Idle Hands and the Drew Barrymore comedy Never Been Kissed - beat out more than 1,000 other actresses to win the part of Max, an ass-kicking yet emotionally vulnerable heroine. "There were so many teeny-boppy, wishy-washy roles that I was reading for," she says. "I wasn't even auditioning for television at all, but I read these two pages of dialogue [from the Dark Angel pilot] that were just so excellent, I had to do it."

Eglee and Cameron were impressed enough with Alba's skills that they wrote the rest of the pilot specifically for her. To help prepare for the physically rigorous role, Alba weight-trained, studied kung-fu and gymnastics and tried to master riding Max's signature accessory - a souped-up motorcycle. "[I spent] lots of days out in the desert on dirt bikes and street bikes freaking out that I was going to fall over and kill myself," she jokes. "I hold a lot of respect for bikes and people who ride bikes, but I think motorcycles are really dangerous. Everyone's joking about giving me a bike now and I'm like, 'No, no, no - it'll sit in the driveway."'

Fortunately, Alba didn't have to get anywhere near a motorcycle while playing a Malay tribeswoman in her next movie, the historical drama The Sleeping Dictionary. And though Dark Angel's bikes may make her nervous, the actress has no qualms about any potentially rabid fan followings spawned by the series. "It's cool if people get into it," she says. "I think there's something neat about connecting with people you've never even met."