Eva Mendes Admits She Wasn’t a Strong Actress Before Stepping Away from Acting
Eva Mendes prefers life beyond Hollywood.
The Place Beyond the Pines actress reflected on her decision to step away from the film industry a decade ago and why she has no regrets.
“I was never in love with acting,” Eva told The Times in an interview published Oct. 17. “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.”
And unsurprisingly, being Cuban-American also often led to being typecast for one-dimensional characters.
“There were some pretty sh–ty roles,” she recalled, noting that the casting crew for projects would say she wasn’t suitable for meatier roles. “That’s all they would say at the beginning—’she’s too ethnic for this, too ethnic for that.’ It was so crazy. That was the constant note.”
However, along with her lack of passion, the 50-year-old—who went to rehab in 2008 as her career skyrocketed—felt that Hollywood wasn’t conducive to the lifestyle that was best for her. Though, she didn’t place the blame on industry, either.