Jessica Alba, the sultry star of James Cameron's new action series, Dark Angel, could single-handedly make prime time worth watching again.

By Paul Young    Photographs by Antoine Verglas

Being a television casting director must be a rewarding job most days. And it's gotta be especially rewarding when director-producer James "Terminator" Cameron tells you to find an incredibly beautiful, genetically enhanced super-warrior for his new Fox sci-fi extravaganza, Dark Angel. Still, it's hard to imagine the search went much beyond the moment Jessica Alba picked up the script. Now 19, Alba has been acting for half her life, stretching back to an early episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 and a starring role in a Flipper syndicated series and extending to more recent gigs in the horror-comedy Idle Hands and the teen-themed Never Been Kissed (with Drew Barrymore). Needless to say, the plum role of Max, a sexy, tough-talking, motorcycle-riding cat burglar on the run in post-apocalyptic Seattle from the secret government agency that spawned her, required a somewhat more lethal combo of beauty and guts. But as we learned between rounds of retro video games at Nova Express Cafe, L.A.'s sci-fi-themed pizza parlor, there's quite a tough cookie beneath Jessica's glamorous glaze. Of Mexican, Spanish, French, and Danish descent and raised in a nomadic military family, Jessica grew up a sports fanatic and terrorized her teachers and grandparents alike with her rebellious behavior. We predict that with Dark Angel, she'll be raising even more eyebrows.

Your character, Max, is a cat burglar, among other things. If you could sneak into any place and not get caught, where would it be?

Hmm, I prefer being right up-front with people, but maybe I'd find out what a prison is like, or I'd go into some laboratories to see just what they're doing with animals in tests. Because I have a sick fascination with medical stuff like that. The ultimate would be sneaking inside the human body. Like, how amazing would it be to see the stomach and the heart and the brain from the inside?

Dark Angel is packed with action scenes, and you spend a lot of time leaping between skyscrapers and dodging bullets. How intense was the training?

It was pretty rigorous. Every day for a year, I went to martial arts, then to gymnastics, then to motorcycle riding, then to a hard cardio workout and stretching. I practiced moves over and over so I wouldn't think about it. My theory is that if you look confident, you can pull anything off -- even if you have no clue what you're doing.

That's really you on the motorcycle?

Yeah. I ride a Kawasaki Ninja 350 on the show. I tried out a 650, and it was amazing, but you really have to respect something that powerful -- one wrong move and you're done. But its' excellent! You can totally peel out. It's a rocket.

Do you own a motorcycle in real life?

I've been obsessed with Harley-Davidsons since I can remember. There's just something about a Harley that drives me crazy. But I think it's just a little too dangerous to ride the streets in Los Angeles. People here just don't know how to drive.

Why do we get the feeling you were somewhat of a tomboy?

I played sports with the neighborhood boys growing up. I loved baseball. I was a catcher and a pretty good batter. But when I turned 12, they made me play softball, and I was like, forget that. I'd much rather play hardball. It's faster.

So you don't throw like a girl?

I never threw like a girl. My dad wouldn't let me. I could throw the ball from home plate to third without getting off my knees. I toss a football fairly well, too. I wanted to play football with the boys, but then I started getting my, you know, girly bits, and that can be a problem when you get tackled and stuff.

Ever been in a fight?

When I was in fifth grade, this sixth grade guy kept grabbing my butt. He was, like, "I want to see you; I want to kiss you" -- really harassing me. So one day I punched him in the face. We had to go to the principal's office because I gave him a black eye.

Your ancestry reads like a United Nations roll call. Do you identify more with the Latino or European side of your family?

Well, I grew up more with my father's family, so I would have to say that I feel closer to the Latino side. But I'm not trying to represent Latinos. Everyone keeps wanting to pigeonhole me as something, but I'd rather be known as American. I could just as easily say that I'm French or Danish or Canadian, because that's where my mother's side of the family is from. I mean, I don't even know how to speak Spanish, so how can I represent Latinos?

Your family moved around a lot when you were growing up, right?

Yeah. My dad was in the navy. We lived in California, then moved to Mississippi for a few years. I even had an accent for a while. Hey, y'all! Then we moved to Texas and I picked up another accent. When I was nine we moved back to southern California. I think I went to eight or nine schools.

So do you identify with the loner side of Max?

I personally relate to feeling isolated, because even when I was in school and among my peers and friends, I never felt like I was really part of the group. Max is distant because she has to be; she can't let anyone find out who -- and what -- she is. It's really a simple matter of survival more than anything else.

How about her problems with authority? Is that based on you, too?

My teachers all hated me. I had asthma and took this medication, which was basically like speed, that made me bounce off the walls. Plus, I was a total smarty-pants, like I knew the answer to every question. But my biggest issue was that I refused to call teachers "Mr." Or "Mrs." They were just people to me, so I wouldn't address them that way. They hated it.

Ever have any nicknames?

Oh, yeah. My grandma called me muchacha cochina pestosa, which means "dirty little girl." I did some crazy things to get attention when I was a kid. Like, my family would be having a barbecue, and they'd be talking about boring grown-up stuff, and I'd walk right in the middle of the group and just let out this nasty burp. Or I'd put on my bikini and pull my bottoms up my butt and walk around like that. For my grandparents, who are totally Catholic and conservative, that was pretty shocking. My grandmother would be, like, "¡Ay muchacha cochina pestosa!!"

How does a dirty little girl win the lead role on a huge new TV series?

I wasn't even that interested at first because I really wanted to concentrate on film -- it was just another audition. Then I read the amazing script that Jim Cameron wrote. Max was so cool. That was it. I know they wanted to cast someone who was a lot like the character, then write the script around that person. And I was a lot like Max.

Dark Angel takes place in 2020, after an economic and societal collapse. Are you scared that Cameron's vision might come true by then?

Not really. Actually I don't think that's such a bad world, even though everything is torn down and people are in economic despair. Because its' a starting over. I mean, we [in the series] may not have the freshest vegetables from around the world, but then again there aren't 20 jean companies either. Instead of people using material things as a crutch, it simplifies everything. I think that's kind of cool.

You just finished making an independent movie in Malaysia. How did you like paradise?

Oh, man, it was kind of wild. We were working in a full-on jungle with monkeys, tigers, and grasshoppers the size of birds. And they have this other bug that's like a gigantic bumblebee. I swear, it's bigger than a hummingbird, and it's really loud. And the Malays will catch them right out of the air, put it on a stick, tear the wings off, toast it, and eat it.

How did it taste?

No way! Those things have worms and stuff. Two people on our crew tried it and they got sick for days.

Still, you were OK hanging out in the jungle with the guys on the crew.

I've always been like that: hanging out with the dudes, sticking up for my beliefs, throwing it down when I needed to. Like, I'm really good at being sarcastic with guys. That's the best way to hang out with them, because that's what guys are like. They don't want the quiet, prissy little things. I never liked girls that complain about everything and refuse to do anything about it. That drives me crazy.

So what makes you interested in hanging out with a guy instead of the guys?

I like smart and interesting guys. Looks are much less important. Especially smart guys who understand life and are not so uptight about it. Like, there's a certain type of guy that's in a certain groove, and he's interesting because he likes to read and exercise his brain. And I'm not talking about a total academic person, but someone with a natural curiosity. Someone who can hang out with the president of the United States and a cab driver in Jamaica and not treat either one differently.

What type of guy falls for you?

Well, yesterday a 60-year-old Arab tourist with gold chains came on to me. I was driving along, and this old man kept driving alongside me, trying to get me to pull over. Like, I'm going to stop and jump into this guy's car? People are so weird sometimes. But really, I don't get asked out on a lot of dates. That used to bother me; then I realized, Whatever, it's just not my time.

Do you have any other dating rules -- besides not jumping into strangers' back seats?

Not to go out on dates with just anyone. Not to give it up too soon. Don't give your heart too soon. Don't give too much of anything too soon.

how do you know you're supposed to go on a second date with a guy?

When I want to hear what he's going to say next.

Maybe I should stop talking now.