Los Angeles, Dec 24 (IANS): Actress Jessica Alba, who landed her first film role in 'Camp Nowhere' in 1994 when she was just 13, didn't have "fun" as an actress when she was younger, because she was "wildly insecure" about her abilities and didn't feel "worthy" of attention.

She said: "(I was) so wildly insecure about my abilities as an actress. I felt so judged. I was my worst critic. I think I didn't feel worthy."

The actress shared that she was left "paralyzed with fear" during the early stages of her career, and said she "never had a real liberating, fun experience" while shooting some of her earlier films, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Speaking about her co-stars, she added: "I just admired people who just were swaggy on set. It felt like they were just in the zone, and you could tell when someone is in the zone and when they just feel good."

The 'LA's Finest' actress eventually took a break from acting, and said the hiatus has brought her "real joy".

She said: "I think taking a break for so long from it and literally having no consequence to whether it works or not, it allows me to have the freedom as a storyteller to just be completely present and try things and I really love it. And it's brought me real joy."

Alba also said it wasn't until she was 30 that she felt she was able to focus more on her life journey and less on the outcome.

She told the aLet's Be Real with Sammy Jaye' podcast: "I just think all of the outcomes were so disappointing, in Hollywood especially. I was like, 'This is so out of my control! Why?'

"You would have a big weather issue and if 80 per cent of the country is frozen, guess who's not going to the movie theatre that opening weekend? But you're slotted for that certain opening weekend a 10 years, someone had spent on this project.

"You've spent at least two years of your life and you think it's going to turn out some way, and then the country's frozen over and no one can leave their house.

"Does that mean it's a failure? No. Does that mean, can they take away from your experience creating it and wanting it to be good? No. But I always looked at that final sort of outcome as what it should have been."