Skip to main contentSkip to footer
Eva Mendes for New York & Company Fall 2018 Runway Show© GettyImages

Eva Mendes reveals why she took a step back from acting

Mendes also talked about what would make her go back to work.


Maria Loreto
Senior Writer
NOVEMBER 7, 2022 1:59 PM EST

Eva Mendes stopped acting in the year 2014. Her last live action role was in the film “Lost River,” directed and written by her partner Ryan Gosling.

In a new podcast appearance, Mendes made it clear that she hadn’t retired from acting, she simply stopped taking roles because she didn’t like anything that was being offered to her. She also talked about the possibility of returning to the big screen.

Eva Mendes Launches Estee Lauder New Dimension Skincare At Nordstrom Aventura© GettyImages
Since her acting break, Mendes has launched skincare products and a kitchen accessory line.

Mendes was featured in the podcast “Fitzy and Wippa,” where she explained her decision to step away from the spotlight.

“I was just, you know… I took time off to be with the kids, because they were just so little. Now they’re six and our older one just turned eight,” Mendes said. “But it’s also because, you know, can I say a bad word? It was some pretty s*****y roles being offered to me and I was sick of taking them.”

Mendes shared that if she was going to be away from her daughters and her family, then the film must offer something for her that she can’t turn away from. “I was sick of it, you know what, it’s not worth it,” she said. “If I’m going to go away for a few months and be you know, it better be something that’s damn good.”

"The Place Beyond The Pines" Premiere   2012 Toronto International Film Festival© GettyImages
Mendes last acting role was in the film “Lost River,” written and directed by her partner Ryan Gosling

Mendes said she sometimes knew the role wasn’t good even by reading a page of the script. “Sometimes there’s a page. If the character is introduced, and you know what I mean?” she said. “Sometimes it’s a page, but I usually try to give it the full, but sometimes halfway through, you’re just like, I’ll never, I’ll never do this.”

While Mendes hasn’t appeared on any films, she has a strong presence on social media and a variety of businesses that make her happy. In an interview with Forbes, she talked about the roles that interest her nowadays. “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,” she said.