It’s not Eva Mendes’s fault that she’s stunningly beautiful.
Yes, her face turns up in a lot of advertising yes, she’s a regular fixture in fashion and entertainment magazines. But look at her filmography and you’ll see a woman who’s pursuing a respectable career as an actor.
Okay, so she started out as action movie eye candy in Exit Wounds and 2 Fast 2 Furious. But Mendes soon switched to comic roles – she’s terrific as Greg Kinnear’s overly enthusiastic paramour in Stuck On You, and holds her own with Will Smith at his coolest in Hitch. She segued into weightier work with a terrific turn as Joaquin Phoenix’s lover in We Own The Night and reunited with Ghost Rider co-star Nicolas Cage in Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans, yet maintained her comedy chops as Will Ferrell’s wife in The Other Guys.
Mendes ended up at the Toronto Film Festival last year with a co-starring role in Last Night, playing a colleague who tempts Sam Worthington to stray from his marital vows. As TIFF 2010 wound down, Mendes sat down at a press table to discuss the movie, her character and the liberation of going without makeup.
In Last Night, you play a character who could easily be a stereotypical temptress. How did you flesh her out into a real person?
I spoke to Massy [Tadjedin] and I said, “My only trepidation is I don’t want to play a vixen – I think it’s boring and one-note.” And she said, “I promise you, we’ll do everything not to come at the character in that way.”
Where did that end up?
I’m stripped of makeup. At the beginning, you see a little bit, maybe some mascara. But I’m definitely not wearing any kind of foundation. There are two scenes in the movie where I have no makeup at all – that does a lot, when you strip yourself of that. It takes away the sex. I really approached this character with no malice, with no agenda, and I thought that made for a really interesting kind of exploration.
You’ve worked with a wide range of directors, but what was it like working with Werner Herzog on his Bad Lieutenant movie?
You’re done by lunchtime every day, which is just weird. It made the financiers very nervous the first week, but then they realized they were getting everything they wanted. Werner knows exactly what he wants, his cameramen shoot very unconventionally. Don’t even try to ask him about character. “Where’s my character coming from? How is she… ?” “No, no, no! Just do it!” That’s like a whole other way to work. I was like, “Okay, just do it.” Imagine that.
How do you approach a role? What’s your process?
I’m definitely not organized in any sense of the word – I wish I were – but I have what looks like serial killer writing all over my scripts. All over, all over, all over.
You’re producing and starring in a Maria Callas bio. Would you consider directing movies as well?
I just directed a short film called California Romanza I stole the title from Frank Lloyd Wright. Christina Ricci’s in it, and she was amazing to direct. I was like, “Oh my god, I’m directing Christina Ricci – I grew up watching her!” I really love the process of directing. I didn’t know if I’d like it as much as I did, but I loved it. So yeah, I wanna do more directing, and a lot more producing.
Interview Clips
Eva Mendes on her plans for a Maria Callas biopic:
Mendes on the joys of goofing around with Will Ferrell in The Other Guys:
Mendes on her fascination with architecture and design:
