<p id=”par-1_45″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/actors/”>Actor</a> Eva Mendes <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/jessica-alba-wasnt-sure-eva-mendes-compared-minorirty-a-listers.html/”>became an A-lister</a> thanks to projects like <em>2 Fast 2 Furious </em>and <em>Hitch</em>. But she also featured in a couple of smaller projects as well. There was one independent film in particular that gave Mendes some serious credibility as an indie star.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-eva-mendes-initially-turned-down-the-film-that-was-a-career-turning-point”>Eva Mendes initially turned down the film that was a career turning point</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/We-Own-the-Night-Eva-Mendes-1.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Eva Mendes posing in a silver dress at the premiere of ‘We Own the Night’.” class=”wp-image-3762863″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Eva Mendes | Richard Lewis/WireImage</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-2_51″>Mendes worked alongside filmmaker James Gray <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/eva-mendes-cried-love-scene-joaquin-phoenix.html/”>and Joaquin Phoenix</a> for the first time in <em>We Own the Night</em>. Although she starred in a variety of movies, Mendes never had a prominent role in an indie before. Ironically, she initially turned down the film because the part she was offered lacked depth.</p>
<p id=”par-3_69″>“I said to him, ‘You know I love this, but it’s a bit too ‘victimy’ for me. I’m kind of prancing around wearing cute clothes.’ But he was so adamant and said, ‘I promise you that I will make this better. Once I get you and Joaquin in and we work on developing the characters.’ And I said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’” Mendes once said according to <a href=”https://www.blackfilm.com/20071012/features/evamendes2.shtml”>Black Film</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-4_11″>However, she asserted that Gray wouldn’t take no for an answer.</p>
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<p id=”par-5_69″>“But then he came back to me a year later, and I thought: ‘This dude…there’s got to be something special about him if he’s pursuing me a year later.’ So I said yes, not totally convinced that I was making the right choice. I have to tell you though, hands down, that it’s my favorite experience. My deepest experience in my acting career. I’m thankful to him now,” she said.</p>
<p id=”par-6_12″>The result of which was the first step towards her indie career.</p>
<p id=”par-7_25″>“Now that was the film that gave me street cred, serious indie cred. And here I am,” she said in a resurfaced interview with <a href=”https://www.stylist.co.uk/people/eva-empowered/11958″>Stylist</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-8_26″>Whereas her old work like <em>Children of the Corn </em>made her <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/eva-mendes-opened-movie-made-realize-terrible-actor.html/”>feel like a terrible actor</a>, Mendes thought Gray’s film brought the best out of her.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-eva-mendes-hoped-that-we-own-the-night-opened-the-door-for-more-interesting-movies”>Eva Mendes hoped that ‘We Own the Night’ opened the door for more interesting movies</h2>
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Eva Mendes’ Kids Were Unimpressed With Her Performance in ‘Hitch’ </a>
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<p id=”par-9_45″>Mendes might’ve made more money in bigger films. But she credited <em>We Own the Night </em>for showing audiences what she was capable of. She even felt it was a better showcase for her acting than <em>Training Day</em>, the film that <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/denzel-washington-helped-stop-eva-mendes-quitting-acting-training-day.html/”>stopped her from quitting acting</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-10_103″>“I’ve never worked at this level before,” she said about the movie according to <a href=”https://www.female.com.au/eva-mendes-we-own-the-night-interview.htm”>Female</a>. “Even though I’ve worked with amazing people I’ve never worked on something like this. I did a drama once. The first kind of thing that broke me out was <em>Training Day</em>, but I only had two scenes in that. Not to minimize that but it was on so much of a lesser scale. The movie wasn’t but my scenes were. I barely spoke in that one, even though it got me a lot of attention. I’ve never been pushed and challenged like this on a daily basis before.”</p>
<p id=”par-11_25″>Mendes also hoped that <em>We Own the Night </em>would eventually afford her the opportunity to do the kind of art her contemporaries were known for.</p>
<p id=”par-12_81″>“I hope that it allows people to think about me in ways that they haven’t been able to before. And I hope that I get more dramatic opportunities. Not just dramatic, I would love to do another romantic comedy. I’d love to do a musical. I love the whole gamut. But I want to be considered for things that Kate Winslet considered for – absolutely. I’m so in love with her. She is so amazing. I think she’s spectacular,” she said.</p>
<p id=”par-13_16″>Speaking with <a href=”https://www.cinema.com/articles/5380/we-own-the-night-eva-mendes-interview.phtml”>Cinema</a>, Mendes further gushed that the film helped her rediscover her love of acting.</p>
<p id=”par-14_55″>“I was doing rehearsals with Joaquin and James and I was feeling something I’d never felt before and I don’t know, maybe it’s because it’s a drama and I found what I love, I’ve found my niche. We were rehearsing and it felt really good, maybe it was because there wasn’t a camera,” she said.</p>