Eva Mendes has opened up about why she has not starred in a movie for several years.
It's been a decade since the 50-year-old actress - whose full name is Eva de la Caridad Méndez - appeared on the big screen after starring in Lost River (2014).
Mendes opens up about why she stepped away from acting:
Mendes portrayed a cabaret show performer named Cat in her husband Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, which competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
Shortly after, the Training Day star retired from the entertainment industry and has been absent for 10 years.
During an appearance on the Today Show, Mendes spoke about her relationship with her husband, whom she met before they both starred in the hit 2012 film, The Place Beyond the Pines.
The Hitch actress revealed that after she and Gosling welcomed their two daughters - Esmeralda, nine, and Amada, seven - she knew it was the right decision to take a step back from Hollywood.
"It was like a no-brainer. I’m so lucky, and I was like, 'If I could have this time with my children,'" she said, before noting that she still works, she just "didn’t act" anymore.
"Because acting takes you on location, it keeps you away," she added.
The 2 Fast 2 Furious star acknowledged that she and the 43-year-old Barbie actor are both working, revealing that her work-from-home schedule allows Gosling to continue acting.
"It was almost just like a non-verbal agreement that it was like, ‘OK, he’s going to work and I’m going to work. I’m just going to work here,'" she shared. "He went and he did his job. He just happens to be really good at his job. And he did it and he came home."
Mendes continues to talk about Gosling’s work ethic and candidly explained why she shared a post on Instagram telling him to "come home" and help "put the kids to bed," after he attended and performed at the 2024 Academy Awards earlier this month.
"Because that’s what it’s about, you go, you do your job, the best you can, and then you come home," she added.
This isn’t the first time that the mom-of-two has opened up about retiring from the entertainment industry.
During an appearance on The View in June 2022, Mendes first acknowledged that she still has a career that doesn’t consist of acting, saying: "I was still working; I just wasn’t acting 'cause, as you know, acting can take up a lot of time," adding: "So I took some time off from film."
At the time, she noted that while she was open to returning to acting, there were certain projects that she would avoid since she was now a mother of two.
"I have such a shortlist of what I will do. Like, before kids, I was kinda up for anything, you know, if it was a fun project," The Out Of Time star said. "But now I won’t do violence. I don’t want to do sexuality. The list is short."
We hope to see Mendes back on our screen soon!