Eva Mendes Doesn’t Want to Do Anymore ‘Dark’ Movies Because of Her Kids
Actor Eva Mendes took a long break from acting to focus on motherhood. Although she’s not completely opposed to an acting comeback nowadays, she confided not too long ago that she’d be a different type of actor if she returned.
How becoming a mom changed Eva Mendes as an actor
Mendes used to be a recurring presence on the big screen. But after her last movie, the Lost River, she hasn’t been seen in theaters for a decade. The consensus was that she quit acting completely at the time, but in reality Mendes’ priorities just shifted.
“I never quit acting,” she once posted on social media according to People. “I wanted to be home with my babies and fortunately my other business ventures allowed me to do that more than acting would.”
Mendes and her husband, Ryan Gosling, had their two daughters in 2014 and 2016. But with both of her daughters having gotten a bit older, some have been curious if Mendes might be interested in returning to the spotlight. However, if Mendes did return, she wouldn’t do the same types of movies that she did in her younger years.
“I think that I watch so many kid films, a lot of animation films. There are so many beautiful ones right now like Encanto or Luca –I think something like that would be really fun because they’ve become so emotional. They’re no longer the animated films that I grew up with, although there are some good ones from my time. That world would be fun. I’m just not in the headspace to go to work and do anything dark,” Mendes said in a 2022 interview with Forbes.
It’s a sentiment that both Mendes and Gosling have in common. Gosling has remained more active in the movie space than his wife. But after starting a family, he makes a conscious effort to avoid movies that might be too bleak.
“I don’t really take roles that are going to put me in some kind of dark place,” Gosling said according to Deadline. “This moment is what I feel like trying to read the room at home and feel like what is going to be best for all of us. The decisions I make, I make them with Eva, and we make them with our family in mind first.”
Eva Mendes doesn’t really miss acting
Another reason that Mendes hasn’t done a film in a while is because she simply hasn’t caught the acting bug again.
“I don’t really miss it,” she told Variety.
Absence didn’t make the heart grow fonder in Mendes’ case. Instead, all that time away reminded her of how underwhelming the film industry could be when it came to women’s roles.
“I got tired fighting for the good roles,” she added. “There just was a point where I thought, ‘I’m going to create my own opportunities and become a producer on things and create my own material,’ but it just didn’t feel worth it to me.”
Still, she did feel that there have been significant strides regarding film roles for hispanic actors. Because of this progress, she still left the door slightly cracked open for a hypothetical return.
“There are more opportunities for Latina actresses now, but when I bowed out 10 years ago I wasn’t being offered things that weren’t specifically Latina,” she added. “It is exciting that things are different now, so who knows what I will do in the future. But right now, I’m keeping it in the home with my kids.”
