Why Jessica Alba Considered Giving Up Acting

Jessica Alba may have a slew of movies in the works, including a role in Ben Stiller's "Little Fockers," but she admitted that, at one time, she considered giving up acting.

"I remember when I was dying in 'Silver Surfer,'" Jessica recounted to ELLE magazine's December 2010 issue of the moment she had the revelation. "The director was like, 'It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry?… Don't do that thing with your face. Just make it flat. We can CGI the tears in.'"

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Jessica said being directed to just look pretty when she welled up made her question her talent.

"It all got me thinking Am I not good enough?" she continued. "Are my instincts and my emotions not good enough? Do people hate them so much that they don't want me to be a real person?… And so I just said, 'F*** it. I don't' care about this business anymore.'"

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The actress said she had a series of experiences where she was told to read the words on the page, exactly, that ended up knocking her confidence.

"Good actors… never use the script unless it's amazing writing," she said. "All the good actors I've worked with, they all say whatever they want to say."

Nowadays, however, Jessica said becoming a mother has made her more resilient – especially to criticism.

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"It's just a chance to try things a different way," she said.

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