How Into the Blue Launched Jessica Alba’s Career in Shark-Infested Waters

Ocean views, adventure, tiger sharks, drug cartels and bikinis – what more could you want in a storyline?

The 2005 film Into the Blue was about 24-year-old Jessica Alba, who was on the verge of her next big break. She had already become a household name through her work in the TV series Dark Angel.

Alba has worked with Paul Walker, Scott Caan and Josh Brolin – some other well-known names in the industry.

Jessica Alba as Samantha “Sam” Nicholson in the 2005 American action film Into the Blue (Source: Sony Pictures Releasing)

The Bikini Dilemma: Behind the Scenes of Alba’s Awkward Wardrobe

For Alba, the film was anything but sunny. She later said she hated every minute of filming in a bikini.

Her character was initially portrayed as a marine biologist who would logically wear a wetsuit while diving, but was later recast as a character wearing scanty bikinis throughout the film.

Ashley Scott, Scott Caan, Paul Walker and Jessica Alba in Into the Blue (Source: Cover Images)

Also, scenes were shot with her stunt double before the actress arrived, so she had to maintain this style, otherwise she would be afraid of being labeled a diva.

“Every time the camera went off, I was wrapped in a towel hating my life and calling my mom and being like, ‘I can’t do this! I hate this movie!'” Alba told People about filming in the Bahamas.

Swimming with sharks: the real terror of underwater filming

Jessica Alba described a terrifying moment during the filming of Into the Blue when a tiger shark unexpectedly came toward her. She saw the shark’s mouth coming toward her and instinctively swatted it away, leaving her paranoid that sharks would get too close for the rest of the shoot.

“The shark’s mouth was open and it was coming at me, and no one warned me – the cameraman just filmed it,” she said of swimming with tiger sharks

“And I saw in my peripheral vision, through my mask, a shark’s mouth coming at me, so I just swatted it away. After that happened, I was really paranoid that sharks were going to get too close to me.”

Jessica Alba’s Swimming Skills: A Lifelong Love of the Water

Jessica Alba said she has felt comfortable in the water since she was a child, thanks to her mother, a lifeguard, who taught her to swim at an early age.

“I’ve been swimming since I couldn’t walk yet because my mom was a lifeguard in Mississippi when I was a baby. She taught me how to swim because she was always afraid of me falling in the pool. So I’ve always been very comfortable in the water, and at the end of the day I just had to think that girls who aren’t the skinniest in the world would feel comfortable seeing me as the main character, so hopefully I would help young girls with their body image,” Alba added of her swimming skills.

“Free riding is like an extreme sports version of snorkeling,” Alba told The Early Show co-host Hannah Storm in an interview.

“That’s about 50 feet deep. And what you basically do is you hold your breath and you wear a weight belt and you go down as fast as you can and you hold your breath for minutes. I think I had the longest breath hold. It was about a minute and 20 seconds,” she revealed of her ability to hold her breath for long periods of time.

Paul Walker and Jessica Alba play a passionate couple living in the Bahamas in the hit film Into the Blue (Source: Sony Pictures Releasing)

Filming began in January 2004, when Jessica Alba was 22. She celebrated her 23rd birthday on April 28, 2004, and was 24 when the film was released on September 30, 2005.

From Into the Blue to Business Magnate: Alba’s Career Evolution

Since then, Alba has made great strides in her career, including founding Honest Company, a company focused on natural baby and beauty products.

On the penultimate day of June 2016, the actress flew back to Los Angeles after a busy week in New York City promoting her company’s new hair care products.

The then 35-year-old actress tried to keep a low profile when she landed at LAX.

Jessica Alba wears her dark hair loose as she arrives at Los Angeles International Airport on June 17, 2016 (Source: WENN)

Opting for comfort over style, she teamed a loose-fitting gray Michael Stars T-shirt with black rolled-up pants.

Jessica Alba wears a Michael Stars T-shirt with black pants and a vest as she arrives at LAX (Source: WENN)

The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer actress completed her look by wearing a black woven cardigan and hiding her eyes behind a pair of Etro sunglasses.

Jessica wore her hair down and a touch of lip gloss, keeping the look understated. She finished off her outfit by showing off her feet in espadrille sandals by German fashion brand Etienne Aigner.

Jessica Alba’s feet in Etienne Aigner espadrille sandals (Credit: WENN)