Jessica Alba, Robert Rodriguez Dish On 'Sin City: A Dame To Kill For'

close

Video

Jessica Alba is out for blood in 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For'

Jessica Alba and Robert Rodriguez talk about coming together for a new

In the new movie "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For," which hits theaters Aug 22, actress Jessica Alba reprises her role as afflicted exotic dancer named Nancy and once again teams up with director Robert Rodriguez.

"It was fun to come back," Rodriguez, who sat alongside Alba during the movie's press junket in Los Angeles, told Fox News Latino.

"We worked a lot [together] in between these movies, so we would talk about it."

The movie is the sequel to Rodriguez's 2005 original noir thriller "Sin City." This installment is also based on Frank Miller's graphic novels and features an ensemble cast including Alba, Josh Brolin, Rosario Dawson, Mickey Rourke and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Alba said this time around, her character is much darker.

"Not every day does a girl, you know, chop her hair off and cut her face," she said.

It's been almost a decade since the first movie hit the big screen, and Alba said now she has a lot more life experience to bring to the table.

"I became a mom, I have a successful company and so now when I approach my work as an actress I have a fearlessness – and working with Robert [Rodriguez] over the years, he really pushes you as an artist," Alba said.

The actress also said she worked with an acting coach and choreographer so her dances reflected the depth required for angst-ridden "Nancy." Her character is battling inner demons and dealing with the untimely death of her true love, Hartigan, played by Bruce Willis.

In the movie, Alba dons tight-fitting outfits and performs a lot of solo dance sequences, which she describes as anything but sensual.

"I felt like they were rough and tough and hard, and raunchy and awful," the actress said adding, "that's what I wanted to bring forward. That's where "Nancy" was, emotionally."

The role also required her to carry a crossbow and a heavy gun. The 33-year-old mother of two said in order to get comfortable with the props she had to spend sessions at the gun range.

"It's a big gun, and I didn't want it to feel like it was overpowering me, I wanted to feel like I had power over it," she said.

Alba, who exudes confidence both on and off screen, also gushed about the business she launched in 2012. She said her company "Honest," which sells eco-friendly home cleaning, baby and skin care products, has grown to 250 employees.

"Our company is one of the fastest growing start-ups out of California,” she said. “It's awesome to have an idea, to create something to see it grow and become successful, there is nothing more satisfying than that."

Rodriguez is also juggling duties as both a director and as the head of a growing company after launching his own cable network, "El Rey," just last year.

"It's a giant playground that everyone's invited to because I'm opening the door for other people to provide their voice to America," he said.

The new 24-hour, English-language network has both syndicated and original programming, such as the recently launched action thriller "Matador," which centers on a popular soccer star who is an undercover CIA operative.

Rodriguez said it’s exciting to run his own network but the responsibility does come with its own unique set of challenges.

"It's a beast that you constantly have to feed so you literally have to be creative and create more content, that's a gift, and find new talent and find new voices,” he said. “It's the gift that keeps on giving, it's a pipeline to an audience."