Issue Date: September 28, 2003
All about Eva
Breaking through the ranks of Hollywood ingénues is part of Eva Mendes' plan for mucho más.
By Michele Hatty
Earlier this year, "Esquire" declared Eva Mendes "The Sexiest Woman in the World." Though flattering, it's a label the up-and-coming actress doesn't want to define her career.
"I tend to cut everything in half -- the compliments and the insults," Mendes says with a laugh. "Somebody says, 'You were amazing!' and that means I was good. But somebody says, 'That was good' -- that means I was kind of bad."
Even halved, the praise being heaped on Mendes, 29, is impressive. Although she broke into acting with an inauspicious turn in 1998's straight-to-video "Children of the Corn V", the Miami-born stunner quickly moved up through the ranks of ingénues to star beside Denzel Washington in 2001's "Training Day", Paul Walker in this summer's "2 Fast 2 Furious" and Antonio Banderas in this month's "Once Upon a Time in Mexico".
So what's driving her success?
The A-word: ambition. "She's very down to earth, she's smart, and she's very comfortable with herself," enthuses Carl Franklin, who directed Mendes in her latest film, "Out of Time", which opens Friday. "When we were in production, everybody was likening her to those really hot Italian stars of the '60s, like Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren. She hits the screen with that kind of power and that kind of heat."
In "Out of Time", Mendes re-teams with Washington to play his estranged wife, a big-city homicide detective. Portraying both a tough cop and ex-lover to suspected killer Washington in the sexy thriller inspired the actress to turn down the flame. Mendes pointedly tamed her exotic looks, mostly wearing conservative -- yet stylish -- suits and binding up her long, thick hair. Explains Franklin: "She wanted to make sure she was as authentic as possible. She didn't want to look real glamorous. But we kind of wanted her to have a combination of authority and glamour."
Mendes' discomfort at being labeled a Hollywood sex object may be more than an ambitious starlet's attempt for meatier roles. "When I was really little, I wanted to be a nun," she says sheepishly. "But then my sister told me that nuns didn't get paid, and so I said, 'Forget that!' I wanted to be a businesswoman."
The youngest of four children born to Cuban parents, Mendes was the only one in the family born in the United States. Her parents split up when she around 10, and she was raised largely in Los Angeles by her mother, an accountant.
As a result, the two share a strong bond. Although Mendes lives with her boyfriend of two years in the Hollywood Hills, she says her favorite place to chill out is her mother's house, where she can eat home-cooked Cuban food and watch reruns of Three's Company. It's here that her mom calls her Mimi. "There's something about going back there that's really special," she says. "I get this really safe feeling. [The place] is simple; it's very small. But it's cool."
When asked to define "the real Eva," Mendes hedges. "I'm still trying to figure that out," she says. She will, however, offer up a few clues. For one, she's a self-described "sushi freak." She subscribes to "The New Yorker" and is addicted to her iPod, which spins tunes from obscure rock bands like the Stills and the Raptures. She is constantly trying to get organized. And she can't stop biting her nails.
Clearly a guy's girl, Mendes prefers a cold beer to a glass of wine, her favorite board game is Twister, and she'll down any coffee drink set in front of her, as long as it's strong. And she just bought herself a set of bongo drums.
Although happily in love, Mendes doesn't believe in marraige. She's a disaster in the kitchen ("I have too much respect for food to cook") and she'd rather cultivate her career than raise kids.
And her career is heating up. In December, she stars with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear in the Farrelly brothers' Siamese twins-centric comedy "Stuck on You". Meanwhile, she's signed on to be Luke Wilson's love interest in "The Wendell Baker Story".
Being Latina doesn't limit actors the way it once did in Hollywood, Mendes says. Pointing to her role as Kinnear's girlfriend in "Stuck on You", she says: "That character was supposed to be a blond, blue-eyed beach bunny. The other girls certainly didn't look like me as far as ethnicity goes. At the audition, I went in and did my thing."
Mendes loves to chill at Mom's, eat Cuban food and watch reruns of Three's Company.
Go to top
Weekend with ... Eva Mendes
On girl's-night-out Saturdays, Mendes, who's got a live-in boyfriend, tries to keep would-be suitors at bay. "I give out a very 'I'm taken' vibe when I'm out on my own. So it's very rare that a man will just come up to me and ask me out. Whether it's the way I'm dressing or how I'm looking around and having eye contact with people. There are all these non-verbal things that I like to do to keep them away, 'cause I definitely don't like being a tease."
|
