Jessica Alba: 'I'd definitely go for the shy, nerdy type of guy'

She's swum with sharks, mastered kung fu and won't use a double for stunts. Live steps into the fast lane with Jessica Alba - and only just manages to keep up

Jessica Alba is fast becoming Hollywood's most talked-about new sex symbol. The 26-year-old was picked by Titanic director James Cameron to star as a tough superheroine in the TV series Dark Angel and has followed through with prominent roles in Sin City and Fantastic Four.

But Alba is determined not to be seen as merely a pretty face.

She insists on doing all her own film stunts and has won herself a reputation as a woman not to be messed with.

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Last year, she threatened to sue Playboy magazine for using her picture without consent.

She dropped the action only after receiving a personal apology from Hugh Hefner.

Born to working-class, mixed-race parents – she has Mexican, Danish and French blood – Alba got into acting only as a way to escape the high-school bullies.

'My memories of school are not great,' she admits.

'In fact, I had a hell of a time. Acting was the one thing that gave me a break from what was going on around me.'

Now she is enjoying the last laugh.

She has clawed her way into the ranks of the top earners and is currently starring in the hit comedy Good Luck Chuck.

There is no other actress who can do what I do… In fact, there aren't that many actors who will go to the lengths I do for a role. I don't use a body double to do my stunts. I do them myself, just like Tom Cruise and Bruce Willis.

When I was auditioning for Dark Angel, James Cameron told me I would never be able to handle the role. That made me desperate to prove him wrong. I trained in kung fu, karate, Thai boxing and gymnastics. I worked with Olympic hockey players and athletes.

I now know that I could hold my own against four guys if I wanted to. And that's always good to know, but it does mean that there isn't a single part of my body that hasn't been bloodied, bruised or broken. It may look good on the outside but I honestly see myself more like a warrior than a sex symbol. I've broken ribs on stunts and scarred myself with more cuts and bruises than you can imagine. I've fallen off bikes at high speeds, and been given bloody noses and black eyes in fights. I'm not always a very pretty sight.

No one gave me a second look when I was growing up. I was the sort of girl who other kids wanted to avoid. I was this incredibly shy, awkward child with buck teeth and a thick Texan accent. I hardly ever spoke up, because I didn't want to draw any attention to myself.

My brother and I were always the odd ones out as children. We lived in the smallest apartment. After leaving the military, my dad worked in different jobs and my mum did all sorts, including working at McDonald's. I went to school with all these rich kids who only knew Mexicans as cleaners or gardeners.

I didn't fit in and I was really unhappy. I'd rather slay a guy with my fists than knock him out with the way I look. I know people like what they see and I'm totally happy to dress up and look sexy but I just see it as playing a part. Underneath I'd prefer to be known for something else, like being tough or being smart. It makes me feel far more confident to know I can hold my own in a fight than it does to look in the mirror and think I look beautiful.

I'm a guys' girl, no doubt about it. I'm much more comfortable in the company of men. I'll have a beer and talk about sports and I'm far more at home in a pair of jeans than high heels and tight skirts. I grew up hanging out with my brother and my dad a lot and they taught me to love the company of men.

I definitely go for the shy, nerdy type of guy. I'm pretty wary of really good-looking guys – and as an actress you work with so many gorgeous men you become completely immune. Deep down, it's probably because they were always the ones who ignored me when I was younger.

I feel much more at home with normal, regular guys. And I always prefer older men. They are much more comfortable within their skin and out to prove less. I like that.

Jennifer Lopez is a huge star but in Hollywood they still always want her to play the maid. I love her because she opened doors for ethnic girls like me but I want to break down more barriers.

I want to be like Will Smith and get to play any character. That is my career plan.

I was bullied really badly at school. My dad had to walk me there so I didn't get attacked. I'd eat my lunch in the nurses' office so I didn't have to sit with the other girls. I'd get beaten up and picked on

all the time. It was about being different and not fitting in. Apart from my being mixed race, my parents didn't have money, so I never had the cute clothes

or the cool backpack. I wasn't a rebel so I didn't want to smoke with the girls

or stay out all night at the age of 13. I had a strict family at home and lots of the girls were looked after by a whole string of nannies, so they got away with all sorts. They took so much out on me.

I'm tough now because as a kid I never fought back. I tried to keep everything inside because I didn't want to lower myself to the level of the bullies. I feel so bad for any kid who is getting bullied. I've been there. I know how much it hurts and I know how it affects you.

I tend to feel suspicious of people when they're friendly to me. When I was young, I always had to be on my guard. I started to really blossom into my looks when I was about 14 or 15 but even then I couldn't really believe it or enjoy it. In fact, I actually felt embarrassed about being pretty.

I will never do a nude scene in a movie – not ever. I can act sexy and I can wear sexy clothes but I can't go naked. I think

I was always very uncomfortable about the way my body developed. I remember my grandmother would freak out and throw a towel over me if she saw me in my bra and panties. I come from a very Catholic family and it wasn't seen as good to flaunt yourself. I can handle being sexy with clothes on but not with them off.

The scariest thing I have ever done is to swim with real sharks. I agreed to do it for a film, Into The Blue, but what I didn't realise was that there were no real safety precautions and we were required to swim out to be with these huge sharks.

I was expecting a controlled environment and wetsuits – what I got was the freezing cold ocean and a bikini. I did it with a couple of other actors because I wasn't going to chicken out but I was terrified. Sharks were actually bumping into us. I was so terrified, I was kicking them away with my legs. It was a two-and-a-half-month shoot and we spent every day in the water. We could only do 45 minutes at a time because we'd start to get hypothermic. It was terrible. It's not something I'd want to do again.

Making lots of money has made me happy. No one else has helped me. I've done this all myself, on my own terms. I enjoy the freedom of travelling, and not worrying about the rent or groceries. Anyone out there who gets bullied should realise that they can take control of their lives and succeed. It's just up to you.

I am a total goofball. I'm always falling over, messing things up and just generally doing silly things. Comedy comes naturally to me. People think of me as the action girl but in real life I am a bit of a klutz.

'Good Luck Chuck' opens on November 9