The role that almost brought Jennifer Garner to an emotional breakdown

Before becoming known for her numerous film and television roles, Jennifer Garner gained worldwide fame as Sydney Bristow, a CIA agent in the series "Alias."

The role that launched her into Hollywood stardom also brought her one of the most demanding periods in her career, as the pace of filming the series almost led to complete exhaustion.

The series, which aired for five seasons from 2001 to 2006, followed the story of Sydney Bristow, a double agent who carries out dangerous missions while hiding her true identity from her friends and family.

"Alias" was a huge success for both Garner and series creator JJ Abrams, and also starred Bradley Cooper.

The series' popularity led to the creation of a whole world around it - from comics and video games to trading cards. Garner soon landed roles in major film projects, including Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can," "The 13th Birthday Girl," and the superhero films "Daredevil" and "Elektra."

However, combining filming for the "Alias" series with film projects proved to be too much of a challenge. Garner once said she had an emotional breakdown in front of Abrams.

"I just cried and cried and said, 'Can I just come in a day later or leave a day earlier? I don't even need a whole day off, but I think I'm going to snap,'" the actress recalled.

She added that during the first two years of filming the series, she didn't even have a lunch break.

"Every lunch, someone was there to teach me the language or train me in martial arts," she admitted.

After the end of the "Alias" series, Garner was able to slow down and for a time she was making about one film a year.

In recent years, however, she has not had many blockbuster films that have achieved success at the box office.