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Eva Mendes shares new rule she has in regards to movie career after eight-year screen absence

’Before kids, I was kinda up for anything,’ Mendes said

Jacob Stolworthy
Saturday 18 June 2022 15:44 BST
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Eva Mendes explains why she hasn't been in any films since 2014

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Eva Mendes has explained her eight-year absence from the film industry, and shared a new stipulation she has for choosing movie roles.

The actor’s most recent film role was in 2014, when she appeared in her partner Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut Lost River.

Speaking on an episode of The View on Tuesday (10 May), Mendes, 48, addressed her absence from the screen, stating she has established new rules in regards to her profession since becoming a mother.

“I was still working; I just wasn’t acting ‘cause, as you know, acting can take up a lot of time,” Mendes said, adding: “So I took some time off from film.”

When asked if she’d consider a return, Mendes continued: “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.

“But now I won’t do violence. I don’t want to do sexuality. The list is short.”

Eva Mendes addressed her absence from the movie industry on ‘The View’
Eva Mendes addressed her absence from the movie industry on ‘The View’ (YouTube)

She said she “hopes” to return if the project is “nice and clean”, saying that a Disney film would be “perfect”.

Mendes has two daughters with Gosling, whom she started a relationship with in 2011 after meeting on the set of the 2012 film The Place Beyond the Pines.

The actor, whose other credits include Training Day, Hitch and Ghost Rider, previously explained why she chooses not to share posts about her family online.

When an inquisitve fan asked why that was, Mendes replied: “I have always had a clear boundary when it comes to my man and my kids. I’ll talk about them of course, with limits, but I won’t post pictures of our daily life.

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She continued: “And since my children are still so little and don’t understand what posting their image really means, I don’t have their consent. And I won’t post their image until they’re old enough to give me consent. As far as Ryan and I, it just works for us this way, to stay private.”

Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling have been in a relatonship since 2011
Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling have been in a relatonship since 2011 (Getty Images)

In 2017, during a Golden Globes acceptance speech, Gosling thanked Mendes for “raising our daughter, [being] pregnant with our second and trying to help her brother fight his battle with cancer” while he worked on the musical La La Land.

“If she hadn’t taken all that on so that I could have this experience, it would surely be someone else up here other than me to today,” he said, adding: “Sweetheart, thank you.”

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