Eva Mendes has very strict standards for acting projects these days, which is why she hasn’t appeared on the big screen in eight years. The difference, since she starred in flicks such as The Other Guys, Hitch and 2 Fast 2 Furious, is the presence of the two daughters she shares with Ryan Gosling: Esmeralda, 7, and 6-year-old Amada.
“I have such a short list of what I will do [now],” Mendes said Tuesday on The View, explaining that she was much more open about the roles she would take before becoming a mom. “I mean, if it was a fun project [I’d do it]. But now I won’t do violence, I don’t want to do sexuality, the list is short.”
Still, Mendes said she would return for something that met her requirements.
Her last roles were a voiceover on the animated children’s show Blueyin 2021 and, before that, the 2014 R-rated drama Lost River, which was written and directed by Gosling. It was released in the United States in April 2015, when their eldest was just a few months old.
Meanwhile, her partner has appeared in The Nice Guys, La La Land, Blade Runner 2049 and First Man. The two-time Oscar nominee also has several films in development, including the high-profile Barbie film, in which he’ll play Ken to Margot Robbie’s version of the iconic doll.
Although Mendes has pulled back from acting, she has continued to work on other projects, such as her clothing line at New York & Company.
Actor Eva Mendes joins Hoda Kotb on TODAY to talk about her husband, Ryan Gosling, their two daughters and her childhood with her mom. She also opens up on the decision to become a mom in her 40s and if she will return to acting.
“My mom was able to be there for me at home until I was about 8 or 9,” Mendes said, “and those memories for me, that just formed who I was, those years with her.”
Mendes said she felt lucky to be able to take a break.
ORDER A COPY OF ROB’S NEW BEST SELLING BOOK! Called “America’s Number ONE Gossip Columnist” by The National Enquirer. Rob ‘Naughty But Nice’ Shuter breaks celebrity news every day on his website NaughtyGossip.com where he delivers all the dish about the stars we love in his naughty but nice signature style. You can also catch him co-hosting and breaking celebrity news on Good Day New York, The Today Show, The Talk, Wendy Williams Show, CNN, Extra and Z100’s ‘Elvis Duran.’ Previously, Rob was the Huffington Post’s only celebrity columnist and the former executive editor of OK! Magazine. Rob has also hosted his own Saturday night talk show on Mark Cuban’s channel and his own daily morning show, ‘The Gossip Table,’ on VH1! Breaking some of the biggest entertainment stories, including Jamie Lynn Spears’s pregnancy news, Britney’s first post-meltdown interview, Eva Longoria’s wedding, and baby exclusives for Jessica Alba, Tori Spelling and Mathew McConaughey’s tots, Rob always knows where to find the best scoop. Before Rob was one of the world’s most successful entertainment reporters, he was a publicist working for Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, P. Diddy, Jessica Simpson and Jon Bon Jovi! Now he is bringing all this experience to his new show on I HEART MEDIA in his unique cheeky way, that is always a pinch and never a punch!