Jessica Alba reunites with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez for the fourth Spy Kids movie of the franchise, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. Alba, who previously worked with Rodriguez on 2005's Sin City and 2010's Machete, plays a cool mom/stepmom in Rodriguez' latest kid-friendly film. Alba stars as Marissa Cortez Wilson, wife of a spy-hunting TV reporter (played by Community's Joel McHale) and mother to a new baby and two smart stepkids. In addition to being a mom, Marissa also happens to be a retired secret agent. Of course, given that this is a Spy Kids movie, it'll be up to Marissa, returning Spy Kids stars Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara, and a new group of helpers to save the world from being taken over by the Timekeeper (played by Jeremy Piven).
At the LA press day for Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, Alba - who just gave birth to her second child on August 13th - said that being a mom now really helped her not only get into the character, but also supplied her with the background to be able to change things up on the set. "Yeah, every scene where I’m interacting with the kids or the baby," answered Alba when asked if her motherly instincts kicked in and made her contribute more to her character on the set. "I definitely had an opinion. And my interactions with Joel, I definitely brought my own real life opinions and circumstances."
Alba said that had it not been for the fact that she's now a mom, she probably wouldn't have taken on a role in a kids film in the first place. And according to Rodriguez, the idea of her joining his Spy Kids franchise came while they were working on Machete. Rodriguez suggested she play a mom, and Alba came up with a workable idea. "Well, I just thought that I could be the mom of an infant but it seemed weird to be the mom of grown kids like that," said Alba. "I was like, 'Uh, I think I’m a little too young for that.'"
In Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, Alba spends a good deal of the time with a baby (played by twins who Alba says were very sweet kids) strapped to her chest in a baby carrier. Doing scenes carrying around a baby required Alba to be constantly ready to go. "You have to get the scene done as quickly as humanly possible while the baby’s in a good mood," explained Alba. "So you have to do everything in two takes and hope to God you got every angle you need."
As for her adult co-star, McHale, Alba revealed he was a real jokester. "He is very funny, very witty, very smart, always in a good mood. Whenever he came to set, I feel like all the dudes, all the guys on set were like, 'Aww.' They loved having him around because he was always telling funny jokes, had some funny remarks about everything," said Alba. "His observational humor is pretty funny. So yeah, he’s lovely, great."
And after working with Rodriguez three times, Alba says she'd definitely be up for a fourth film together. If Rodriguez writes her character into the Machete sequel, she'd be willing to return. "As a friend we have a good relationship and as a director. I really respect him and I love working with him. He inspires me so we definitely have a shorthand. He’s wonderful."
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Spy Kids: All the Time in the World hits theaters on August 19, 2011.
