Jessica Alba Is Standing in Her Power! - What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast

1. 0:00 – 3:48

   Stabbed or Shot, and an Awkward Introduction

   1. TNTrevor Noah0:00

      If I'm gonna die, I would like to die in my bed old-

   2. JAJessica Alba0:02

      Oh, yeah, yeah

   3. TNTrevor Noah0:02

      ... and then fade away.

   4. JAJessica Alba0:03

      That'll happen.

   5. TNTrevor Noah0:04

      That's preferable. Now, if I had to choose, they forced me, they said, "Trevor, are you gonna get shot or are you gonna get stabbed? What would you choose?" I would choose stabbed.

   6. JAJessica Alba0:11

      Oh, wow.

   7. TNTrevor Noah0:11

      Just because I feel like there's a, there's like an-

   8. JAJessica Alba0:12

      Slower?

   9. TNTrevor Noah0:13

      ... intimate moment between myself and the person stabbing me.

   10. JAJessica Alba0:16

       Oh, okay.

   11. TNTrevor Noah0:16

       You know what I mean? Where I can, like, look, and you say something. That's what I like.

   12. JAJessica Alba0:19

       [laughs]

   13. TNTrevor Noah0:19

       You get to say something. If you're shot, it might just be over.

   14. JAJessica Alba0:22

       That's true.

   15. TNTrevor Noah0:22

       It's very loud. It's done.

   16. JAJessica Alba0:23

       Yeah, it is loud.

   17. TNTrevor Noah0:23

       When you're stabbed, I can just, like, look at the person and say something like, "Oh-

   18. JAJessica Alba0:26

       [laughs]

   19. TNTrevor Noah0:27

       ... it was you all along."

   20. JAJessica Alba0:28

       [laughs]

   21. TNTrevor Noah0:29

       I like that. I like that moment.

   22. JAJessica Alba0:31

       [laughs] [upbeat music]

   23. TNTrevor Noah0:37

       This is What Now? With Trevor Noah. [upbeat music] Hi, Jessica Alba.

   24. JAJessica Alba0:50

       Hi. Haven't done an interview in a really long time. I'm a little bit nervous.

   25. TNTrevor Noah0:55

       You haven't?

   26. JAJessica Alba0:55

       Mm-mm.

   27. TNTrevor Noah0:56

       Well, don't think of it as an interview.

   28. JAJessica Alba0:57

       Okay.

   29. TNTrevor Noah0:57

       Think of it as a conversation. If it's an interview, then I've failed.

   30. JAJessica Alba1:00

       I haven't had a conversation in a really long time. [laughs]
2. 3:48 – 8:08

   Coming Back to Action and Feeling at Home on Set

   1. TNTrevor Noah3:48

      And I remember having every feeling as a human being, and I was just like, "This is the greatest experience of my life." And that's why I'm so excited because now you're back into it. So, so maybe let's start with that. How does it feel? How does it feel coming back into a world that you have so many feelings about, positive, negative-

   2. JAJessica Alba4:09

      Yeah

   3. TNTrevor Noah4:09

      ... lukewarm, neutral, you know? How does it feel, Jessica Alba's back as an action star?

   4. JAJessica Alba4:13

      It feels so official when you say it for some reason. Um, so when I'm on a set, it feels like home. It feels like I'm with my people.

   5. TNTrevor Noah4:26

      Oh.

   6. JAJessica Alba4:26

      I think because I, maybe 'cause I grew up in my early years on a military base and I started acting so young, being on a set in that, like, nomadic life, and essentially you're like circus people, right?

   7. TNTrevor Noah4:41

      Yeah, yeah.

   8. JAJessica Alba4:41

      It's all the sort of, like, freaks and weirdos of their family are who end, end up usually in the business. And, um, and it, they just feel like my people. They feel like home.

   9. TNTrevor Noah4:53

      You've always... You know what it is? It, it's like you're not just somebody who wants to act in action films. It's almost like you're an action aficionado who likes the integrity of what's happening in the fight and what's going on-

   10. JAJessica Alba5:04

       Mm

   11. TNTrevor Noah5:04

       ... behind the scenes and, and what... So talk to me a little bit about that. Like, what is it about action in particular that, that, that, that you enjoy?

   12. JAJessica Alba5:12

       I think 'cause I grew up on, like, Lethal Weapon and Beverly Hills Cop-

   13. TNTrevor Noah5:16

       Oh, I like this

   14. JAJessica Alba5:17

       ... and, like-

   15. TNTrevor Noah5:17

       Okay

   16. JAJessica Alba5:17

       ... you know. I, I loved that genre growing up, and, and it was always men who got to do it, and they were saving the chick.

   17. TNTrevor Noah5:28

       Yes.

   18. JAJessica Alba5:28

       And I was like, "What if the chick was the main event here?"

   19. TNTrevor Noah5:32

       What if the chick was saving herself? No.

   20. JAJessica Alba5:35

       [laughs]

   21. TNTrevor Noah5:35

       What?

   22. JAJessica Alba5:37

       Yeah. And so I... And then James Cameron picked me when I was 17, you know, out of thousands of, of people to, to really be the star of this wild idea, um, which is this post-apocalyptic dystopian future where there's genetically engineered humans.

   23. TNTrevor Noah5:57

       Mm-hmm.

   24. JAJessica Alba5:57

       And I was in the writers' room with them. 'Cause they only had three paragraphs written when they hired me, and they wrote the character and the rest of the story kind of around who they were gonna cast. And I think because they gave me a seat at the table s- when I was 17-

   25. TNTrevor Noah6:12

       Yeah

   26. JAJessica Alba6:12

       ... and I trained with stunt people, so I'm a trained stunt person essentially. I don't know. I feel like that's probably where I feel most comfortable. I never felt comfortable in Hollywood settings-

   27. TNTrevor Noah6:26

       Mm-hmm

   28. JAJessica Alba6:26

       ... like more traditional Holly- where we've met, you know, at the Vanity Fair party-

   29. TNTrevor Noah6:30

       Right, right, right

   30. JAJessica Alba6:30

       ... or the Golden Globes or that- that's where I always felt wildly uncomfortable, but I've always felt really comfortable on a set with like the crew.
3. 8:08 – 12:17

   Being Pigeonholed as a Fanboy Fantasy

   1. TNTrevor Noah8:08

      I've always wondered what that felt like from your side. You know, as a, as a human being, you're having an experience, and oftentimes what we take for granted is the experience that we're having of other people isn't necessarily what they're having of themselves.

   2. JAJessica Alba8:22

      Yeah, never. Right?

   3. TNTrevor Noah8:22

      So y- you, you were in the industry. You were in Hollywood at a time-

   4. JAJessica Alba8:26

      Mm

   5. TNTrevor Noah8:26

      ... when it's really curated. There was no social media.

   6. JAJessica Alba8:30

      Mm.

   7. TNTrevor Noah8:30

      There was no way for you to speak to your fans or to your audience or to anybody-

   8. JAJessica Alba8:34

      No

   9. TNTrevor Noah8:34

      ... on the outside. And I, I, I, I, I like that you say that, that fanboy image, you know?

   10. JAJessica Alba8:39

       Mm.

   11. TNTrevor Noah8:39

       Did you ever feel like you were being pigeonholed or, or put into a specific space where it's like, you know, "Jessica Alba, you have to be the sex bomb that's looking like this in the leather pants, and this is the only way you can exist"?

   12. JAJessica Alba8:50

       I think that no matter what role, whether I was doing like a dance movie, you know-

   13. TNTrevor Noah8:56

       Mm-hmm

   14. JAJessica Alba8:56

       ... to inspire young girls like Honey or if I was Dark Angel where I was a genetically engineered like super human or if I was Sue Storm who was-

   15. TNTrevor Noah9:08

       Yeah

   16. JAJessica Alba9:08

       ... a very like maternal kind of superhero, they would always feel like they needed to sell me to the fanboys in a certain way, and it wasn't just me. It was all of us right at the time.

   17. TNTrevor Noah9:22

       Right.

   18. JAJessica Alba9:22

       And so yes, there were like two or three of these men's magazines that we would all do to, you know, try and get those fanboys to go and show up and watch whatever it is that we were selling. But I would always try to do three to four women's magazines, so at for every one guys, I would do three to four womens to try and keep the balance there.

   19. TNTrevor Noah9:42

       Yeah.

   20. JAJessica Alba9:42

       You have to be strategic, and I think I- it taught me when I thought about longevity in the business, I, I think being portrayed that way forced me to be even more strategic, probably at a very early age.

   21. TNTrevor Noah9:59

       I went back and, and looked at some of your early interviews and-

   22. JAJessica Alba10:04

       I'm so embarrassed.

   23. TNTrevor Noah10:06

       No, you shouldn't be because-

   24. JAJessica Alba10:07

       [laughs]

   25. TNTrevor Noah10:07

       ... it's really interesting to see that that trait i- is even evident back then. Some, in some of your earliest interviews, you talk about wanting to be a producer. You talk about wanting to get behind the camera. You talk about wanting to control the environment that you're in, and back then it, it ... I'm sure if people read it and saw it, it would just seem like a nice thing to say. But when we look at Hollywood and the industry in hindsight now, you know, everything, the, the Harvey Weinsteins, the MeToo movement-

   26. JAJessica Alba10:32

       Mm

   27. TNTrevor Noah10:32

       ... looking at the insidious nature of agents and what was happening and ma- you, you know what I mean? When, when we look at it now, when I go back and read some of your interviews, it almost seems like you were sometimes either prescient or you were speaking through what was happening and you, you were trying to say, "Hey, I would like to have a little control so that I'm not at the mercy of, of, of this machine."

   28. JAJessica Alba10:53

       Hmm.

   29. TNTrevor Noah10:54

       Did you feel at times or, or, or did, did it seem that you couldn't be everything you wanted to be in the industry and you, you-

   30. JAJessica Alba11:01

       Absolutely. Yeah
4. 12:17 – 14:53

   Believing She Was Smart: Family History and Assimilation

   1. TNTrevor Noah12:17

      Where do you think that came from or, or what do you think that was? Because many people, I think, can i- can identify or relate to being in an environment, whether it's in the office, you know, whether it's in starting a company, whether it's e- even, even on, on a small level in a friend group sometimes, you know, where people feel like they aren't credited with who they are, what they've brought to the table or-

   2. JAJessica Alba12:40

      Mm

   3. TNTrevor Noah12:40

      ... like, w- where do you think that came from?

   4. JAJessica Alba12:43

      I've tried to unpack this a bit, the years of therapy and everything. I think it really has to do with my family growing up in a very racist and segregated environment. You know, my, my grandfather and my grandmother having to assimilate, them having to essentially brainwash and train their children into believing that they don't have brown skin-

   5. TNTrevor Noah13:15

      Hmm

   6. JAJessica Alba13:15

      ... in a way, you know, so that they can get through the day or life-

   7. TNTrevor Noah13:19

      Yeah

   8. JAJessica Alba13:19

      ... without feeling, um, the restrictions of, of what that meant. You know? The, the, my dad was six, I think, when they were s- when segregation kind of stopped between Mexicans and whites in, um, in Southern California, and he has a lot of shame around what that means and, and, and how he has always been treated. You know, he's undeniably Mexican. I asked him not too long ago, I was like, "Dad, when there's, like, cops looking for a brown guy running through Claremont-

   9. TNTrevor Noah13:57

      Yeah

   10. JAJessica Alba13:57

       ... do you get stopped?" And he's like, "Probably every time." And, uh, 'cause it, we were talking about voting, and [laughs]

   11. TNTrevor Noah14:05

       [laughs]

   12. JAJessica Alba14:05

       I was like, "You know, Dad, I think you might be voting for the wrong side."

   13. TNTrevor Noah14:09

       [laughs]

   14. JAJessica Alba14:09

       You know, just trying to, like, ease him into voting differently. I'm like, "Do you get stopped extra every time you go to the airport?" And he's like, "Yes, 100%." And, and I was like, "So maybe we should start thinking about maybe voting differently for someone who kind of under- you know, maybe a party that is more sympathetic towards what it's like to walk through the world-

   15. TNTrevor Noah14:31

       Mm-hmm

   16. JAJessica Alba14:32

       ... being you."

   17. TNTrevor Noah14:32

       Mm-hmm.

   18. JAJessica Alba14:33

       It is funny. Knowing that that is my history now when I think of, like, "Oh yeah, this is why it took me three years for me to even embrace this idea that I could be intelligent-

   19. TNTrevor Noah14:44

       Mm-hmm

   20. JAJessica Alba14:44

       ... that I-

   21. TNTrevor Noah14:45

       Mm-hmm

   22. JAJessica Alba14:45

       ... deserve what I've worked for and stand in my power in a way.

   23. TNTrevor Noah14:51

       Yeah.

   24. JAJessica Alba14:51

       It took me a while.

5. 14:53 – 18:59

   Childhood Lost and Rediscovered Through Her Kids

   1. TNTrevor Noah14:53

      When you're working from the age of 12, I can only imagine that you, you miss out on a lot of childhood. You know, my, my mom always used to say to me, she would say, um, to me, she'd like force me to play. Not that you had to, but my mom would say to me, she'd be like, "Hi, honey, go and, go and do things. Go and play. Go and play. That's good. Good, good, good." And then when I was a little older and I'd be, like, buying things, I'd buy, like, a flashy car, or I'd get, like, a, a trashy car and I'd put rims on it that would, really didn't match what was happening.

   2. JAJessica Alba15:18

      [laughs]

   3. TNTrevor Noah15:19

      And my mom would see it, and then she'd be like, "No. Good, good." And I, it was almost like she was roasting me a little bit without realizing it. She'd be like, she'd be like, "Oh, I can see you. You needed to put earrings on, on an ugly person to make it look better. I see what you did there, baby."

   4. JAJessica Alba15:31

      [laughs]

   5. TNTrevor Noah15:32

      And I'd be like, "What?" And she's like, "No, no. Do it, do it." She said, "It's good. You, you should play now as a boy so that when you're a man, you don't try to, to live the life that you didn't, that you didn't get when you were younger. Go, go ahead. Go and be a boy. Be a boy."

   6. JAJessica Alba15:44

      Mm.

   7. TNTrevor Noah15:44

      And I'm, like, driving away with my rims like, "I don't think that was a compliment."

   8. JAJessica Alba15:47

      [laughs]

   9. TNTrevor Noah15:48

      But it, it did, it did always, it did always stick with me, you know? What, the thing that my mom was saying was she was saying there are stages in life where you, you need to be living according to that stage.

   10. JAJessica Alba16:01

       Mm.

   11. TNTrevor Noah16:01

       And I've always wondered about, especially, you know, actors who, who act from a young age, w- it looks like it's fun-

   12. JAJessica Alba16:09

       Mm

   13. TNTrevor Noah16:09

       ... but it's still work. Did that rob you or did that, you know, shift your ability to be a child? Have, have you been able to experience childhood in any way? Like ...

   14. JAJessica Alba16:21

       Yes. I think I do it through my kids.

   15. TNTrevor Noah16:24

       Oh, I love that.

   16. JAJessica Alba16:25

       Yeah. So I've, I feel like I have given them the life I didn't have, and so I get to be present with them and live through their eyes and sit with them and allow them to really be kids and be, have temper tantrums and I'm still there, you know, hold space for them and-

   17. TNTrevor Noah16:46

       Yeah

   18. JAJessica Alba16:46

       ... then let them be joyful and silly and goofy and all that. Yeah.

   19. TNTrevor Noah16:51

       What's, what's the, your favorite thing you've experienced through your kids' eyes, something that you never got to experience?

   20. JAJessica Alba16:59

       I don't think my parents did this on purpose, and so I don't want them to take it the wrong way. I always felt a layer of cynicism whenever I was being completely me. When I was uninhibited, there was always a comment. I don't know if I ever really felt the freedom of just being me. So every moment that my kids exist is great, 'cause they're just being them and it's, like, so beautiful, 'cause they're all very different, but they get to just be them and, and I'm, and I'm not in any way kind of confining that or putting them in a box.

   21. TNTrevor Noah17:42

       Mm-hmm.

   22. JAJessica Alba17:43

       I felt like I never really had that freedom, and I think that's why actually I started acting so young, because it gave me the freedom to, to be someone else.

   23. TNTrevor Noah17:57

       Do you, do you still have that joy and that passion? Like, you, you've come back, which I, you know, I might be wrong, but I would assume means there, there is, there is a joy and there's a passion that you find in-

   24. JAJessica Alba18:09

       Yeah

   25. TNTrevor Noah18:10

       ... acting that's special.

   26. JAJessica Alba18:11

       There's something cathartic, I think-

   27. TNTrevor Noah18:12

       Yeah

   28. JAJessica Alba18:13

       ... about yes, it's written and, and it, there's a script and there's a character and there's other actors, but there's something about- This moment that you create with people and the fact that I get to be in someone else's skin gives me this freedom, this ... It's very liberating. It's forces me to be wildly present, and I think, um, I'm not sure, outside of my children, anything else that, that does that. It's, it's awesome. I hope to do it more, um, but only work with people I love instead of [laughs] assholes. I think that's-

   29. TNTrevor Noah18:54

       I mean, that's, that's a great way to be

   30. JAJessica Alba18:55

       ... [laughs] I think that's where I'm, that's where I'm going now.
6. 18:59 – 21:50

   Trigger Warning and Why She Prefers Knives to Guns

   1. TNTrevor Noah18:59

      In Trigger Warning, you're, you're, you're playing a person who's, who's really an expert in... What, what military division were they in? What are you-

   2. JAJessica Alba19:05

      Yeah, she's Special Forces.

   3. TNTrevor Noah19:06

      Special Forces.

   4. JAJessica Alba19:06

      Yeah.

   5. TNTrevor Noah19:06

      All right. And, you know, she, she comes back home. She's lost her father. But it's, it's, it's interesting. Like, when I first saw the synopsis, I was like, "Okay, I think I know what this movie will look like." And that, that's the key thing, what it'll look like, what it'll feel like in the... But in many of the scenes, it feels a little grittier. It feels a little, little more real. It feels, it feels like you've always wanted to make this kind of action movie-

   6. JAJessica Alba19:28

      Mm-hmm

   7. TNTrevor Noah19:28

      ... where, which the action is almost happening in the world of a real character as opposed to a character who's just there in service of the action.

   8. JAJessica Alba19:38

      Yeah, yeah, that's exactly it. We're gonna have amazing action sequences, and it's gonna be fun, right? But to me, it's always more fun if you could really feel a connection or invested in the story.

   9. TNTrevor Noah19:48

      Yeah.

   10. JAJessica Alba19:49

       It makes the, the payoff and the action that much more gratifying if, if you're invested in some way.

   11. TNTrevor Noah19:55

       Do you like getting kicked and punched?

   12. JAJessica Alba19:58

       I like doing the kicking and punching.

   13. TNTrevor Noah19:59

       If someone clips that, it's gonna-

   14. JAJessica Alba20:00

       [laughs]

   15. TNTrevor Noah20:01

       ... it's gonna come off very wrong. Context, context, context.

   16. JAJessica Alba20:05

       I, I, I-

   17. TNTrevor Noah20:05

       In, in films. I will state that all again, in film.

   18. JAJessica Alba20:08

       In film only.

   19. TNTrevor Noah20:09

       Do you enjoy being kicked? [laughs]

   20. JAJessica Alba20:10

       Film only.

   21. TNTrevor Noah20:11

       No, because you-

   22. JAJessica Alba20:12

       Yeah

   23. TNTrevor Noah20:12

       ... you'd get bruised. You would get-

   24. JAJessica Alba20:13

       Yeah, yeah

   25. TNTrevor Noah20:13

       ... like back in the day, back, like in, in all-

   26. JAJessica Alba20:15

       I could sell a punch. I don't like it when they accidentally hit. That sucks.

   27. TNTrevor Noah20:21

       Did you get fewer or more injuries filming Trigger Warning than you did in, in, in previous films? 'Cause you've done everything.

   28. JAJessica Alba20:27

       Mm.

   29. TNTrevor Noah20:27

       Krav Maga. You-

   30. JAJessica Alba20:28

       Mm-hmm
7. 21:50 – 25:56

   Founding Honest as a Social Justice Mission

   1. TNTrevor Noah21:50

      I, I, I was chatting to friends about this, um, before our conversation, and I was like, it really is wild to think that there was a time when a celebrity/well-known person, actor, singer, whatever you wanna call it, th- there was a time when they would not be involved in anything business. It was just not possible. I mean, now it seems so obvious. People are like, "I've got my tequila. I've got my clothing brand. I've got my makeup brand. I've got..." Everyone's like, "Yeah, you can do it." In fact, sometimes people just do it to do it now.

   2. JAJessica Alba22:21

      Right.

   3. TNTrevor Noah22:22

      There was a time when it was impossible, and you stepped into this world where nobody, and I mean nobody, thought it was possible because it really hadn't been done before, and you set out to create what went on to be a listed company. Talk, talk me through that journey. Like, when you, when you look back on it-

   4. JAJessica Alba22:41

      Mm

   5. TNTrevor Noah22:41

      ... what do you think it was that prompted you to step into a world that really wasn't sexy at the time?

   6. JAJessica Alba22:46

      No, not at all.

   7. TNTrevor Noah22:47

      You know? And, and-

   8. JAJessica Alba22:48

      The opposite. [laughs]

   9. TNTrevor Noah22:49

      Yeah, it was the complete-

   10. JAJessica Alba22:50

       The opposite

   11. TNTrevor Noah22:50

       ... the complete unknown. When you-

   12. JAJessica Alba22:52

       Yeah

   13. TNTrevor Noah22:52

       ... when you're starting a company, what, why did you wanna do that?

   14. JAJessica Alba22:56

       I have always been genuinely, like, keeps-me-up-at-night social justice warrior. I've al- I've always been since I was little. I mean, there's, like, a tape of me when I was five or six at Disneyland talking about being a feminist-

   15. TNTrevor Noah23:17

       [laughs]

   16. JAJessica Alba23:17

       ... and a modern-day woman, and I had this thick Texas accent.

   17. TNTrevor Noah23:21

       [laughs]

   18. JAJessica Alba23:21

       And I was like, "I'm a feminist. I'm a modern woman. I don't need a man," you know? And I'm, like, this little kid spewing this stuff.

   19. TNTrevor Noah23:29

       Wow.

   20. JAJessica Alba23:29

       Um-

   21. TNTrevor Noah23:29

       And Mickey Mouse is standing there like, "Well, I just-

   22. JAJessica Alba23:31

       In the background

   23. TNTrevor Noah23:31

       ... I just wanna know if you want a picture or not."

   24. JAJessica Alba23:33

       Yeah, exactly. [laughs]

   25. TNTrevor Noah23:34

       "You, you crazy lady. Okay, calm down."

   26. JAJessica Alba23:37

       I was a little girl-

   27. TNTrevor Noah23:38

       [laughs]

   28. JAJessica Alba23:39

       ... with, like, wild ideas.

   29. TNTrevor Noah23:40

       Where did you get them from?

   30. JAJessica Alba23:42

       I, I don't... This is the nature versus nurture thing.
8. 25:56 – 31:39

   Advice to Her Younger Self and Pitching to Skeptical Investors

   1. TNTrevor Noah25:56

      let me start by asking you the end question. Uh, o- one of, one of the more fascinating things, um, I ever heard was, um, it was Jensen Huang, the CEO of, of Nvidia-

   2. JAJessica Alba26:06

      Mm

   3. TNTrevor Noah26:06

      ... who is now easily, like, one of the most powerful people in the world because he's-

   4. JAJessica Alba26:09

      Mm

   5. TNTrevor Noah26:09

      ... essentially controlling how AI is gonna move.

   6. JAJessica Alba26:12

      Yeah.

   7. TNTrevor Noah26:13

      But someone asked him, they said, "Hey, if you, if you could do it again and, or if you were talking to somebody else who was going to do it, what advice would you give them?" And he says, "Don't."

   8. JAJessica Alba26:21

      [laughs] Same.

   9. TNTrevor Noah26:23

      And I remember hearing it and just being like, "Wait, what?"

   10. JAJessica Alba26:25

       [laughs]

   11. TNTrevor Noah26:25

       And he's like, "Don't do it."

   12. JAJessica Alba26:26

       [laughs]

   13. TNTrevor Noah26:27

       He said, "If I knew everything I knew today about what it took to get this company going, to keep it going, and to get where I got to today, I would say don't do it."

   14. JAJessica Alba26:36

       [laughs]

   15. TNTrevor Noah26:36

       Too much pain, too much blood-

   16. JAJessica Alba26:38

       [laughs]

   17. TNTrevor Noah26:38

       ... too much sweat, too many tears, too many disappointments.

   18. JAJessica Alba26:40

       Mm-hmm.

   19. TNTrevor Noah26:41

       Don't do it. And there's a, there's a strange, like, tiredness that you'll feel in people, founders particularly-

   20. JAJessica Alba26:48

       [laughs] Yeah

   21. TNTrevor Noah26:48

       ... founders who-

   22. JAJessica Alba26:50

       Yeah

   23. TNTrevor Noah26:50

       ... who have been there from the beginning, who've had to grow something into this, you know, this, the, this idea more than just a company.

   24. JAJessica Alba26:56

       Yeah, it is an idea.

   25. TNTrevor Noah26:58

       Like, w- what advice would you give to yourself, knowing if you, you know, y- you're in that interstellar moment and you're seeing young Jessica Alba, who's about to go into Honest-

   26. JAJessica Alba27:08

       Mm

   27. TNTrevor Noah27:08

       ... what advice would you give to her?

   28. JAJessica Alba27:12

       Stop looking to men for validation.

   29. TNTrevor Noah27:14

       Damn. Wow. Huh. How do you think that played out in a company structure?

   30. JAJessica Alba27:32

       I think in a company structure, I kept feeling like I needed to ... It was like the, um, cat chasing its tail in a way. I, I knew intuitively what this company was created for-
9. 31:39 – 34:04

   Stepping Away from Honest and Identity Beyond the Title

   1. TNTrevor Noah31:39

      I, I found myself wondering, I was like, wow, what is it like to experience that level of change? You know, um, the writer Simon Sinek, he's, he had a fantastic idea where he talks about you understanding that there are two yous. There is the you as a human being, and then there is the you that is, for lack of a better term, the name badge.

   2. JAJessica Alba31:59

      Mm.

   3. TNTrevor Noah31:59

      You know, the title. You know, here you are, is Jessica Alba, and this is the position that you inhabit, whether it's, okay, you're the actress from this, or you are the, you know, the creative director of this listed company. There's a lot that comes with that title. Like, with The Daily Show, it w- it was like that for me. It's like, okay-

   4. JAJessica Alba32:18

      When your identity is so attached to it.

   5. TNTrevor Noah32:19

      Yeah.

   6. JAJessica Alba32:20

      Yeah.

   7. TNTrevor Noah32:20

      You know, it's ... And, and it's, doesn't always have to be your identity, how you see yourself. It's how people see you.

   8. JAJessica Alba32:26

      Yeah.

   9. TNTrevor Noah32:26

      And you go like, "Oh, if I'm gonna say goodbye to this, am I also saying goodbye to people seeing me as a person?"

   10. JAJessica Alba32:32

       Mm.

   11. TNTrevor Noah32:32

       And I, I found myself wondering when I s- when I saw your announcement, I was like, wow, how do you know it's time to step away? What makes you step away? And how do you deal with the conflict of losing this thing that's such a big part of yourself?

   12. JAJessica Alba32:49

       I wanted to leave it in a good place.

   13. TNTrevor Noah32:52

       Mm.

   14. JAJessica Alba32:53

       When I realized that the business really needed the more kind of streamlined flow, uh, and not the visionary flow, I had to start thinking about what that meant for my role, and it took me a hot minute to get there. I needed to leave it in, in hands that I knew i- it would be safe in and, and with the right team. And so I felt like I could finally ... I can kind of, like, let my kid go off to college in a way, you know? But it's sad. It's sad because, yeah, it's a part of me. It's a child.

   15. TNTrevor Noah33:32

       Mm-hmm.

   16. JAJessica Alba33:33

       So I, even, like, thinking about my kids, all of my kids' first day of kindergarten, I, I weeped, you know? [laughs] It, it's like, it's a milestone. I don't think it's ever easy.

   17. TNTrevor Noah33:46

       That's interesting. It's almost like if I hear you correctly, you're, you're saying it's, it's the difficult balance of holding onto something that you love, but then also being able to let it go so that it can go onto the next stage of what it needs to be.

   18. JAJessica Alba33:59

       It's where it's meant to go. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

   19. TNTrevor Noah34:01

       Huh. That, that is an interesting one.

10. 34:04 – 37:30

    Running From Stillness and Self-Worth Beyond Achievement

    1. TNTrevor Noah34:04

       Does it, does it leave you feeling like you instantly need to do something else?

    2. JAJessica Alba34:08

       [laughs] Kind of. But also at the same time, I think I really need to not do that. I think I need to just sit in this space of, like, nothingness. You were talking about-

    3. TNTrevor Noah34:26

       It's terrifying. It's terrifying

    4. JAJessica Alba34:26

       ... like learning a language and, and doing-

    5. TNTrevor Noah34:29

       It is terrifying

    6. JAJessica Alba34:29

       ... pottery.

    7. TNTrevor Noah34:30

       Yeah.

    8. JAJessica Alba34:30

       And, you know, just random creative-

    9. TNTrevor Noah34:32

       That's all I need to do

    10. JAJessica Alba34:33

        ... things.

    11. TNTrevor Noah34:34

        Yeah.

    12. JAJessica Alba34:34

        Um, and, and I feel like I'm in that state as well. You jumped right into a podcast.

    13. TNTrevor Noah34:40

        Yeah. Well, actually, the, the podcast I didn't jump into. What I jumped into was touring incessantly.

    14. JAJessica Alba34:45

        Oh, right, right, right, right, right.

    15. TNTrevor Noah34:45

        I went into a full year. I was so afraid of what, like, the, the gap that I'd created that I wanted to just prop my- I was like, "Well, I have to do something," and then I did everything. I worked more-

    16. JAJessica Alba34:57

        [laughs]

    17. TNTrevor Noah34:57

        ... the year after I left The Daily Show than I did at The Daily Show, which is wild.

    18. JAJessica Alba35:01

        That is wild.

    19. TNTrevor Noah35:01

        I was everywhere. I was nowhere. I was ... And, and it's only when I was deep in, in it that I realized, I was like, oh, man, what you were, what you were doing here was you were trying to run away from the silence.

    20. JAJessica Alba35:12

        Stillness.

    21. TNTrevor Noah35:13

        Exactly.

    22. JAJessica Alba35:13

        Yeah.

    23. TNTrevor Noah35:13

        You know? You go back to the kids leaving the house.

    24. JAJessica Alba35:15

        Yeah.

    25. TNTrevor Noah35:15

        It's the, you're trying to run away from the house, not having something breaking, someone screaming-

    26. JAJessica Alba35:20

        Yeah

    27. TNTrevor Noah35:20

        ... something being cold, something. It's a scary feeling because-

    28. JAJessica Alba35:24

        It's scary

    29. TNTrevor Noah35:24

        ... you're not used to it.

    30. JAJessica Alba35:25

        Yeah.
11. 37:30 – 42:27

    Therapy With Her Kids and Healing Family Cycles

    1. TNTrevor Noah37:30

       I know that you spent a lot of time, and not, a lot might sound, sound wrong, but, like, you spend time with your kids in therapy, which again, when you started, this was a very new concept and new idea.

    2. JAJessica Alba37:42

       Yeah.

    3. TNTrevor Noah37:43

       You know, now-

    4. JAJessica Alba37:43

       I didn't realize it was so controversial.

    5. TNTrevor Noah37:44

       Yeah, now, now people are like-

    6. JAJessica Alba37:46

       Yeah

    7. TNTrevor Noah37:46

       ... "Let's talk about health, baby."

    8. JAJessica Alba37:48

       Yeah.

    9. TNTrevor Noah37:49

       Yeah, mental health.

    10. JAJessica Alba37:49

        Yeah, mental. [laughs] It's true.

    11. TNTrevor Noah37:50

        What did you do in your brain? It's like, now it's cool.

    12. JAJessica Alba37:52

        Yeah, now it's cool.

    13. TNTrevor Noah37:53

        But there was a, yeah, there was a time-

    14. JAJessica Alba37:54

        I was doing it early, before anyone talked about it

    15. TNTrevor Noah37:56

        ... yes, Jessica Alba says, "I'm going to therapy with my kids." And people are like, "Oh, what did she do to them?"

    16. JAJessica Alba38:01

        Yeah. They, it was really weird. It, it was kind of the first time I got the kind of backlash as a parent is, I think-

    17. TNTrevor Noah38:07

        You've been mom shamed?

    18. JAJessica Alba38:08

        I've been, yeah, of course.

    19. TNTrevor Noah38:09

        Wow.

    20. JAJessica Alba38:10

        Um, yeah, it's weird how people have, like, very strange judgey perceptions. But I had a really tough adolescence and, and it was hard for me to find my way back to my mom, and we have a complicated, very loving, but complicated [laughs] relationship, and I just wanted it to be easier between my girls and, and me, and myself. I, I didn't want there to be years of fighting-

    21. TNTrevor Noah38:43

        Mm

    22. JAJessica Alba38:43

        ... and misunderstanding and not, and missing each other, you know? I wanted, I just wanted it to be different, so when I started seeing and feeling the, "You just don't understand me" thing, and I was like, I feel like I'm always scolding them and, you know, and they just feel like I don't get it. Maybe this is a time where they can have a safe place where they can say whatever they want.

    23. TNTrevor Noah39:07

        Yeah.

    24. JAJessica Alba39:08

        They will not get in trouble, and I have to be a listener and just try and figure out how to meet them where they need me so I can be a better parent.

    25. TNTrevor Noah39:18

        That's beau- I love that. I love that, because if, if, if I hear what you're saying, it's like in many ways you're doing the thing, or you wanted the thing that many of us take for granted, and that is the opportunity to interrupt the cycles that we experience in our families.

    26. JAJessica Alba39:31

        Mm-hmm.

    27. TNTrevor Noah39:32

        You know? Our inability to communicate, our conflict. So it, it, it seems like you were trying to actively step in and change something that most people just go like, "Well, that's the way our family is."

    28. JAJessica Alba39:43

        Right. Yeah.

    29. TNTrevor Noah39:44

        What, what was the one thing that you had to change, or you had to learn from therapy where y- w- that you were, like, shocked by? 'Cause therapy always does that. It, like, it'll show you a side of yourself that you didn't know or want to acknowledge, and then you have to go out into the world and, and, and face that.

    30. JAJessica Alba40:03

        So I think because even though I was right
12. 42:27 – 46:56

    Struggling With Stillness and Worst-Case Scenario Thinking

    1. TNTrevor Noah42:27

       What's the biggest thing you're struggling with right now that you, you wish you could change instantly, but you can't?

    2. JAJessica Alba42:34

       The stillness is hard.

    3. TNTrevor Noah42:36

       It is.

    4. JAJessica Alba42:36

       It's really hard, yeah.

    5. TNTrevor Noah42:37

       Do you meditate?

    6. JAJessica Alba42:38

       Mm-hmm.

    7. TNTrevor Noah42:39

       But it's still hard.

    8. JAJessica Alba42:41

       You know why? Because if I could go and live- ... s- isolate myself and be completely alone and just meditate all day and do that, I think it would be a lot easier. But interacting with the life-

    9. TNTrevor Noah42:58

       Yes, yes

    10. JAJessica Alba42:58

        ... the everyday life-

    11. TNTrevor Noah42:59

        [laughs] Yes

    12. JAJessica Alba43:00

        ... and trying to be fucking still-

    13. TNTrevor Noah43:03

        Yes

    14. JAJessica Alba43:03

        ... is really hard. [laughs] That's ... You can relate.

    15. TNTrevor Noah43:07

        Oh, yeah, def-

    16. JAJessica Alba43:07

        Yeah

    17. TNTrevor Noah43:07

        ... I had an argument with a monk about this. Yes, I'm that kind of person. I am ... I was, I was in Bhutan, and there was a monk I was chatting to. And this monk was like, "Well, the stillness..." And I was like, it was beautiful. Don't get me wrong. There were a lot of things that I learned. And then the monk, I said, "Well," I said, "That's why you have to go to other places, right, so you can try and, you know, find your calm or find your still or find your peace." And, and then the monk was like, "Yes, but you can always find it inside yourself." And I was like, "Well, not always. You can try. But you, you can remember what it feels, but not always." And he was like, "No, always." I was like, "It's not always." I was like, "Yo, man, you live, like, in a monastery, and you, you always go-

    18. JAJessica Alba43:47

        On top of a mountain

    19. TNTrevor Noah43:48

        ... on top of a mountain.

    20. JAJessica Alba43:48

        [laughs]

    21. TNTrevor Noah43:48

        I was like, "Why do you go there? Because you know that if there were kids screaming, running around-

    22. JAJessica Alba43:53

        Yeah

    23. TNTrevor Noah43:53

        ... or if there were cars driving by-

    24. JAJessica Alba43:54

        Yeah

    25. TNTrevor Noah43:54

        ... it's a lot harder to connect to that thing."

    26. JAJessica Alba43:56

        And if they need help with their homework.

    27. TNTrevor Noah43:57

        Yes.

    28. JAJessica Alba43:57

        Or if someone was-

    29. TNTrevor Noah43:58

        Exactly

    30. JAJessica Alba43:58

        ... wronging them at school-
13. 46:56 – 47:47

    What Now? Closing Question

    1. TNTrevor Noah46:56

       I, I would love to know, like, what now? What now for you as, as a human being? And not, not what's next, by the way. What now?

    2. JAJessica Alba47:05

       What now?

    3. TNTrevor Noah47:06

       Yes.

    4. JAJessica Alba47:06

       What now? Yeah, that's interesting. It might be your shortest answer.

    5. TNTrevor Noah47:12

       Oh, go. I love that.

    6. JAJessica Alba47:13

       I don't know.

    7. TNTrevor Noah47:15

       Huh.

    8. JAJessica Alba47:16

       I really don't know.

    9. TNTrevor Noah47:18

       That is beautiful.

    10. JAJessica Alba47:20

        I mean this, right?

    11. TNTrevor Noah47:22

        No, but I... And I mean it. That is beautiful. Thank you for that.

    12. JAJessica Alba47:27

        [laughs]

    13. TNTrevor Noah47:28

        Jessica Alba, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast.

    14. JAJessica Alba47:30

        Thank you for having me. [upbeat music]

Episode duration: 47:47