Jessica Alba says she didn't have any preconceived notions about what it would be like to tackle physical comedy going into her starring role in Good Luck Chuck. "I really didn’t, to be honest with you. I knew it was going to be fun because Dane [Cook] and I, the second we met each other, we got along. It was like I’d known the guy forever and we just have a good time. We have a great rapport."

Alba stars as an accident-prone penguin handler who catches the eye of dentist Charlie Logan (Cook) in the comedy directed by first-time feature film helmer Mark Helfrich.

Although Alba’s really not known for roles in comedies, she’s ready to change that. “I hosted the MTV Movie Awards two summers ago I think, and I kind of used it as my audition because, like you said, I haven’t really done any comedies. I couldn’t get into those rooms because people just didn’t think that was my thing. They thought I was ‘action girl’, so I hosted the Movie Awards knowing that I was going to be able to do funny skits. Dane was at the show and that’s when he made the call that he thought I could do comedy and I could do Good Luck Chuck with him.”

In fact, ‘action girl’ Alba had a blast doing physical comedy. Commenting on her favorite scene to film, Alba said, “There was a scene where Dane and I kind of have our first night together, hanging out and a bunch of random events happen to where he needs to take me to my house so I can get a key. It was sort of the first time I did a lot of the physical comedy that wasn’t written at all in the movie. I could just be free and have fun.

And Dane and I, we have really great chemistry and we were just playing off of each other and having a great time. We turned the scene into something better, and that was really cool because I think it makes the movie better as well because you can see the connection that these two people have. You want them to be together.”

Getting physical actually led to an accident on set…an accident with lasting consequences. “I did chip my front tooth doing a kiss with Dane. I chipped my top tooth and he chipped his bottom tooth. We were doing a comedic Mr. and Mrs. Smith love scene and we were slamming into walls and breaking things, tumbling over couches and stuff. He slammed my head into a picture and, while my head was smacking into the wall and breaking the picture, his teeth slammed into my teeth.”

Emergency dental work was required. “I have a bond on my tooth but, when I take it off, I look like Dumb and Dumber. I look like Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber. I look really silly.”

Her new chipped tooth look might even come in handy in future comedy roles. “I can definitely take the bond off my tooth and show my half-crooked, chipped tooth in the front. That definitely throws people off a bit. I don’t know. But, I am excited to use that one day, in all fairness. And, I didn’t really cry and I wasn’t really mad about it. I was like, ‘Cool!’ It’s kind of neat. I get to take this thing off and be somebody else for a little while.”

Accidents happen, and Alba’s still able to look back on her time on the set of Good Luck Chuck as a positive experience. And being directed by first-timer Mark Helfrich was a big part of the fun. “He was like a little kid in a candy store,” said Alba. “It was actually quite endearing. Every day he was having a ‘pinch me’ moment. He was just happy to be there. He’s been an editor for a very long time and I think this is something he’d always wanted to do and it was like his dream was coming true.”

While audiences are used to seeing Jessica Alba looking totally under control in films and on red carpets, in Good Luck Chuck Alba has to look like a klutz – something the actress said didn’t come hard for her to do. “I’m quite clumsy in my own personal life, more than any person should be. It’s kind of a joke, so it was fun being able to not hide that. I’m usually having to be incredibly self-aware and self-possessed and self-conscious, certainly. And even just walking in heels and trying to pretend I’m a superhero and try to be the most coordinated person on the planet in Dark Angel and all these things… In this, I just really got to be goofy and have fun. I didn’t have to be so self-conscious. It was nice. I related to it in a personal way.”

And speaking of relating to her character, Alba was fine with the film’s R-rating because it felt real and authentic. “I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of all of the romantic comedies that have come out in the past five years because I felt like a lot of them were too soft and didn’t seem real. I want the characters to be more tangible. And, in this movie, they’re crazy, but at least they feel kind of real. They are eccentric, but they feel like somebody you know. Some of the things that Dan Fogler says are so out of control, but I have a friend that talks like that and acts crazy. So, yeah, I wasn’t offended at all. I thought it was kind of cool that the studio allowed us to do that.”

And what about working with the penguins of Good Luck Chuck? Alba claims she had a great time with the creatures. “They’re lovely little animals and they don’t like everybody, but they liked me right away. I found a way to tickle them on their neck which is how their handlers do it. Usually they are kind of spastic and stiff, but they would lay down and kind of purr when I did that. That’s when I knew they liked me. It was good.”

There’s an age-old adage that says you should never work with kids or animals and so Alba knew what she was in for going into the film. “You’re always upstaged by animals and children. Come on, man [laughing]. That’s the fear we all have. I don’t mind. It’s nice. I really enjoy having animals on set. I always bring my dogs to every film I do. They’re great because they don’t really care about you at all. It’s all about them and their needs. They’re so innocent and adorable, especially penguins.”