Eva Mendes’ voice was once re-dubbed because she ‘didn’t sound intelligent enough’

Eva Mendes is reminiscing on what was probably a very sad and frustrating moment in her career. On Wednesday, the actress shared a post from Kid Cassidy Films, revealing that in the 2001 film Exit Wounds, her dialogue was completely re-dubbed by another actress.

Mendes first talked about the overdubbing in 2013 while talking to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. Mendes, who played “Trish,” had no idea she had been re-dubbed until she went to the premiere. “It was a terrible film, but I had a small part in it,” she told the host.

“I thought something was odd when I came on the screen, I sounded weird. I’m there with my family it was a very very proud moment, and they dubbed my voice. And it wasn’t in a foreign language, it was an English film in English,” she said confused.

Mendes, who recently shared a 10-year-old photo with Ryan Gosling, called it an “out-of-body experience” and said when she inquired about the change, a producer told her she “didn’t sound intelligent enough.” “And it was a Steven Segal movie,” she quipped. “He didn’t do it, but it’s a Steven Segal movie, and they didn’t think I sounded intelligent enough,“ she said, laughing with Stewart.

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Exit Wounds starred Seagal and the late DMX. Mendes remembered him in her post writing, “All my love to DMX. I didn’t know him well but he was beyond lovely to work with. Such sweet energy.”

The film has a 33% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics saying it has plotholes and bad dialogue.

The offensive redub could be one of the many reasons Mendes decided to stop acting. She told Variety in 2022, “I got tired of fighting for the good roles.” “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 said.

But there is still hope we might see Mendes come back to acting one day. “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,” she said.