Resident Evil Star Milla Jovovich Says It's 'Disrespectful' To Play Damsel-In-Distress

05/14/2017 03:44 pm EDT

After her performance in the fan-favorite sci-fi romp The Fifth Element, Milla Jovovich became a bonafide action star capable of carrying an entire franchise.

Jovovich went on to be featured in all six films in the billion dollar Resident Evil franchise, directed in four of those films by husband Paul W.S. Anderson.

Jovovich recently spoke to the New York Times about her role as an action star, saying it's "important to see women positions of power."

"When I did The Fifth Element, I realized I was never going to be the girl in the movie that goes 'watch out' or 'help me,'" Jovovich said. "I felt like on a personal level it felt disrespectful to play the damsel in distress."

Jovovich said she was first inspired by Sigourney Weaver's iconic portrayal of Ellen Ripley in the original Alien film, fighting against and being the sole survivor of the xenomorph threat.

"I never knew a woman could do that," said Jovovich. "It made me want to be able to go into battle and be a warrior."

She lauded Aliens director James Cameron, her Fifth Element collaborator Luc Besson, and her own husband Anderson as directors who cast women in roles of strength and power.

Jovovich said she wants to be an inspiration to young women and is proud of her role as Alice in the Resident Evil films.

"It's crazy the stories I've heard," Jovovich said of her performance's impact on fans. "The power of pop-culture image. It's everything."

Jovovich can be seen in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter on Digital HD. The film sill be released on Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday, May 16.

Picking up immediately after the events in Resident Evil: Retribution, humanity is on its last legs after Alice is betrayed by Wesker in Washington D.C. As the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity's final stand against the undead hordes, Alice must return to where the nightmare began – Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse. In a race against time Alice will join forces with old friends, and an unlikely ally, in an action packed battle with undead hordes and new mutant monsters. Between losing her superhuman abilities and Umbrella's impending attack, this will be Alice's most difficult adventure as she fights to save humanity, which is on the brink of oblivion.

Milla Jovovich reprises her starring role as Alice. Other headline cast includes Ali Larter (Heroes, Resident Evil: Afterlife) as Claire Redfield, Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Resident Evil: Extinction) in the role of Dr. Alexander Isaacs, Shawn Roberts (Edge of Darkness, Resident Evil: Afterlife) as Albert Wesker, Australian actress Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black), who has a huge social media presence, as Abigail, Eoin Macken (The Night Shift) as Doc, Cuban-American actor William Levy, one of People en Español's reigning 50 Most Beautiful, as Christian, Fraser James (Law & Order: UK) as Michael, and Japanese model and TV personality, Rola, as Cobalt.

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[Photo Credit: Impact Pictures]

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