Eva Mendes Would Only Return to Acting if It’s Alongside Her Husband Ryan Gosling

Eva Mendes says the only way that she could be convinced to return to acting is if it’s alongside her husband Ryan Gosling.

It’s been a decade since Mendes stepped away from acting. Her last role was a small part in Gosling’s feature directorial debut Lost River. The actress’ last credit, though, was lending her voice to a 2021 episode of Bluey.

“I was never in love with acting. I don’t mean this in a self-deprecating way, but I wasn’t a great actress. I had my moments when I worked with really great people,” she said in an interview with the U.K.’s Sunday Times.

Mendes says her best work was opposite Gosling in films like Lost River and The Place Beyond the Pines, which is the 2012 film where they first met.

“He gets something out of me that’s never been accessible before,” she said.

In her 16-year career on screen, Mendes appeared in several films including The Other Guys, Hitch and Girl in Progress.

Since then, she’s focused on raising her and Gosling’s two daughters and other career opportunities.

However, she still occasionally gives acting tips to Gosling, who has starred in films like Barbie, The Notebook and La La Land.

“I would just simplify everything. I’m like, ‘Just make Barbie notice you, that’s what Ken is all about.’ So then there was this desperation. He really loved that,” Mendes said. “I’d remind him, as he’s literally walking out the door, ‘Make Barbie notice you, make Barbie fall in love with you.’”