Eva Mendes Admits She Was 'Never in Love with Acting: 'I Wasn't a Great Actress' Before Stepping Away from It

Mar. 15, 2025

Eva Mendes.Photo:Alexander Tamargo/FilmMagic

Alexander Tamargo/FilmMagic

More than a decade afterEva Mendeslast appeared onscreen, she’s admitting she never felt a major passion for acting.In a recent interview with U.K.‘sThe Times, Mendes, 50, who lives in London with her partnerRyan Goslingand theirtwo daughters, said she “was never in love with acting.““I don’t mean this in a self-deprecating way, but I wasn’t a great actress. I had my moments when I worked with really great people,” she added, while noting that she is most proud of the two movies she made with Gosling, 43. The pair costarred in 2012’sThe Place Beyond the Pinesand she appeared in Gosling’s 2014 directorial debutLost River, her last film project.“He gets something out of me that’s never been accessible before,” she told the outlet.Mendes began acting in the 1990s and iscreditedwith a role onERin 1998, as well as two music videos, as her first onscreen appearances. Prior toThe Place Beyond the Pines, she appeared in movies likeA Night at the Roxbury,Training Day,Ghost RiderandThe Other Guys, as well as twoFast and Furiousmovies.In recent years, Mendes has made appearances as a voice actor on the children’s animated seriesBluey, though she has not yet returned to acting for the big (or small) screen.Eva Mendes on Sept. 18, 2024.Todd Owyoung/NBC via GettyMendes recalled that she was dealt “some pretty s—– roles” early in her career when she was typecast as a “one-dimensional beauty,” as the outlet put it, and that her Cuban heritage was always at the forefront of casting decisions.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“That’s all they would say at the beginning — ‘she’s too ethnic for this, too ethnic for that,’ ” she said. “It was so crazy. That was the constant note. Then, at some point, it switched to ‘oh, ethnic is cool now’ or ‘being Latina is cool’. It gave me energy because it would make me so mad and then I’d get that fuel that I needed.”Eva Mendes on Sept. 13, 2018.Donato Sardella/Getty Images for New York & CompanyAccording to the outlet, Mendes would most likely return to acting if it were for a project that also starred her longtime partner. “That’s the one thing I would love to do,” she said, noting that she will sometimes serve as Gosling’s acting coach on movies likeBarbie.“I would just simplify everything. I’m like, ‘Just make Barbie notice you, that’s what Ken is all about.’ So then there was this desperation. He really loved that,” she said of giving input on hisnow-iconicBarbieperformance. “I’d remind him, as he’s literally walking out the door, ‘Make Barbie notice you, make Barbie fall in love with you.’ "

More than a decade afterEva Mendeslast appeared onscreen, she’s admitting she never felt a major passion for acting.

In a recent interview with U.K.‘sThe Times, Mendes, 50, who lives in London with her partnerRyan Goslingand theirtwo daughters, said she “was never in love with acting.”

“I don’t mean this in a self-deprecating way, but I wasn’t a great actress. I had my moments when I worked with really great people,” she added, while noting that she is most proud of the two movies she made with Gosling, 43. The pair costarred in 2012’sThe Place Beyond the Pinesand she appeared in Gosling’s 2014 directorial debutLost River, her last film project.

“He gets something out of me that’s never been accessible before,” she told the outlet.

Mendes began acting in the 1990s and iscreditedwith a role onERin 1998, as well as two music videos, as her first onscreen appearances. Prior toThe Place Beyond the Pines, she appeared in movies likeA Night at the Roxbury,Training Day,Ghost RiderandThe Other Guys, as well as twoFast and Furiousmovies.

In recent years, Mendes has made appearances as a voice actor on the children’s animated seriesBluey, though she has not yet returned to acting for the big (or small) screen.

Eva Mendes on Sept. 18, 2024.Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

Mendes recalled that she was dealt “some pretty s—– roles” early in her career when she was typecast as a “one-dimensional beauty,” as the outlet put it, and that her Cuban heritage was always at the forefront of casting decisions.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“That’s all they would say at the beginning — ‘she’s too ethnic for this, too ethnic for that,’ ” she said. “It was so crazy. That was the constant note. Then, at some point, it switched to ‘oh, ethnic is cool now’ or ‘being Latina is cool’. It gave me energy because it would make me so mad and then I’d get that fuel that I needed.”

Eva Mendes on Sept. 13, 2018.Donato Sardella/Getty Images for New York & Company

Donato Sardella/Getty Images for New York & Company

According to the outlet, Mendes would most likely return to acting if it were for a project that also starred her longtime partner. “That’s the one thing I would love to do,” she said, noting that she will sometimes serve as Gosling’s acting coach on movies likeBarbie.

“I would just simplify everything. I’m like, ‘Just make Barbie notice you, that’s what Ken is all about.’ So then there was this desperation. He really loved that,” she said of giving input on hisnow-iconicBarbieperformance. “I’d remind him, as he’s literally walking out the door, ‘Make Barbie notice you, make Barbie fall in love with you.’ "

source: people.com