Jessica Alba is speaking out about a nude scene in the 2005 film Fantastic Four, calling the experience "humiliating". The actress, who played Sue Storm, also known as the Invisible Woman, reflected on the scene during an "In Conversation With" event at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Alba described the scene, which involved her character stripping down on a bridge to become fully invisible, as her "least favorite" and "awful". She explained that the experience was particularly difficult for her because she "grew up with a pretty conservative family, and I am a pretty modest person". "I dreaded that scene for weeks," Alba confessed, adding, "I have a lot of whiplash from those days".
In the scene, Sue Storm needs to evade a police blockade. To do so, she uses her powers to become invisible, which at that point in the movie required her to remove her clothing. However, because she hadn't fully mastered her abilities, she momentarily becomes visible again while undressing. A similar scene appears in the sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, where Sue falls in front of a crowd without clothes and is photographed before she can turn invisible.
Despite her negative feelings about the nude scene, Alba has expressed fondness for the character of Sue Storm, noting that she "loved" how Sue broke gender stereotypes in superhero movies. "She was a woman I looked up to," Alba said. "She was very maternal and very kind, but also not a pushover; she spoke her mind. She had a great moral compass. No matter who you are, you can look up to her". She added that, in contrast to many female characters at the time, Sue Storm wasn't someone who needed to be saved by a man. "Oftentimes, the women in these stories need to be saved by a guy or the villain, the problem in the story. This was back then. It's different now," Alba stated.
Alba's experience isn't unique among actresses. Actor Bug Hall shared in an interview that many actresses, especially those new to such scenes, often experience "uncontrollable weeping" for hours before filming.
Alba has been selective about nude scenes since. She told Glamour Magazine that she doesn't want her grandparents seeing her nude and that nudity "would never 'elevate' the picture" in the movies she has done.
Alba also shared that she is working to promote diversity on screen through her production company, Lady Metalmark Entertainment. She observed that, growing up, she didn't see much diversity in storytelling, explaining that when mostly "white guys" are in charge, they tend to tell stories through their own perspectives because "They don't know you". "They didn't grow up with a woman who grew up like me," Alba said.
