Jessica Alba took roles just ‘to survive’ as a young actress

Jessica Alba is taking a trip down memory lane. 

In a new interview, the actress – who is currently promoting her new Netflix film, "Trigger Warning" – opened up about the early stages of her career and explained why she felt she was in survival mode when it came to taking on roles. 

"You're not always taking the roles that are the best," Alba told People magazine, referencing her experience as a young actress in Hollywood. "You're just taking roles to survive, which teaches grit and perseverance, but I do wish I would've had the skill set and the wherewithal to write and to know about writing and directing and producing earlier in my career."

JESSICA ALBA EXPLAINS WHY SHE STOPPED ACTING AT THE ‘TOP OF MY CAREER’

The mom of three, who stars in and executive produced the new film, said her experience gave her a better understanding of how to support her children if they choose to follow in her footsteps. 

"The thing is, I think if you tell your kid anything, they're going to do the opposite, right?" said Alba, who shares Honor, 16, Haven, 12, and Hayes, 6, with her husband Cash Warren. "So I try not to have too strong opinions one way or another."

"If they do want to be a performer, then being able to be a producer and a writer, or a director," she added. "I think having that leadership role is really important to the art and be part of the art in a way where they feel like they can have more autonomy and there's more dignity."

In 2021, Alba – who recently stepped down as chief creative officer of the Honest Company – opened up about why she hit a pause on her acting career after giving birth to her first child.

"My mother had cancer at a really young age," Alba told Romper at the time. "Many women in my family have passed from various different cancers, none of them genetic."

"I had five surgeries before I was 11 years old," she explained. "I had chronic allergies, and I was hospitalized a lot as a child. I had this real moment of, I want to live and thrive, and spend as much time with this little person that I’m bringing into the world as possible and stay. So, my health matters. I want this little person to be healthy. And it’s really freaking hard to be happy when you don’t have your health."

"That’s really what motivated me," Alba continued. "My motivation was not like, ‘Am I ever going to get hired again?’ Frankly, I was at the top of my career."

After giving birth to Honor, Alba realized she "couldn’t go back to what I was doing before and be authentic."

"I just couldn’t," Alba admitted. "I just didn’t care about it anymore the same way. It was something bigger. I feel like if I was going to, I guess, sort of get this platform, what can I do with it that could be meaningful and make a difference? That reality just felt so real when I became a mom for the first time."

Fox News Digital's Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this post.