'I'm all yours, Disney.'
Eva Mendes is revealing the surprising type of role that would make her return to acting. ET's Katie Krause caught up with the 45-year-old actress at the 2020 Create & Cultivate conference in Los Angeles, and she shared the kind of character she'd love to play for the two daughters -- Esmeralda, 5, and Amada, 3 -- she shares with her longtime partner, Ryan Gosling.
"Acting is something that I will always love. It's just like now that I have children, I'm kind of extreme," says Mendes, who last appeared in the 2014 film Lost River. "There's just so many things I won't do. Like I won't do most of the movies I've done in the past. A lot of things are off that list. I don't want to do anything too violent. Of course, I don't want to do anything too sexual or sexual at all."
"So I'm basically like, 'Disney, I'm all yours, Disney,'" she continues. "That's all that's left."
Despite her love for Disney, it's not a princess she'd like to play. "I'm more of the villain kinda type of girl," she admits. "I'm more of the Ursula type... I like the villains of the Disney movies. They're fun."
Though acting hasn't been Mendes' focus as of late, she did reveal one more grown-up movie that she'd love to be a part of -- a sequel to Hitch, which recently, much to Mendes' shock, celebrated its 15th anniversary. Mendes starred in the 2005 rom-com alongside Will Smith, who played a professional date doctor who finds a love story of his own with Mendes' character.
"You're kidding? Oh my god. What the hell?" she says of the decade and a half that's passed. "You know what? It's time for a Hitch 2. Will, let's do this. Hitch 2."
As for a potential plot for the movie, Mendes suggests, "It'd be in the world of all these dating apps. What would Hitch do? He'd be out of a job."
When it comes to her own love story, Mendes has been in a relationship with Gosling since 2011. The actress recently delighted her Instagram followers when she responded to a comment and revealed that Gosling knows his way around the kitchen.
"Ryan's an amazing baker and an amazing chef," she tells ET. "He's amazing in the kitchen. Amazing."
Mendes also shared why she takes time to respond to Instagram comments, explaining that it's all about "connecting" with her female followers.
"I usually don't respond to guys... you never know with Instagram," she says. "I love when I can feel that it's a woman and that I'm connecting with her whether it's feedback on my clothing line or whether it's just a beauty tip, a mom tip that I ask them for too, you know? I love that connection with women."
"That's inspiring to me, because posting is kind of stressful and I don't love it, but the comments are what I kind of like," she adds. "I get excited about that, get little sparks of energy by connecting with other women."
That connection and support Mendes finds on social media, was also a large reason why she opted to participate in the Create & Cultivate conference.
"I'm just here to offer any kind of, you know, support that I can. I've been in the business now 20-something years... And I've partnered with many, many different companies throughout the years," she says. "I've had a lot of businesses that would be called failed businesses... but I don't believe in failed businesses, because I've learned something from everything and it's gotten me here. Sharing, that's important."
As for her own professional life, Mendes said that she's focused on "following what my passion is at the time," rather than setting "this overall goal of having an empire." Right now, that includes partnering with New York & Company for a collection, which includes a floral dress she wore to the event.
"My ambition shifts from this to that at different times and I think part of the message that I like to get across is that you don't have to want to have everything," she says. "You don't have to want to be this, like, super mom, super mogul. I'm not and I'm really happy this way... I'm super ambitious and, again, I love taking risks, I love the business side of everything I do. But having an empire is not the goal for me."
Watch the video below for more on Mendes.
RELATED CONTENT:
