<p id=”par-1_58″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/actors/”>Actor</a> Eva Mendes has been very candid about her insecurities in the past, sometimes <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/eva-mendes-opened-movie-made-realize-terrible-actor.html/”>even doubting her own acting abilities</a>. However, she learned more about herself as a performer the longer she operated in the film industry. At one point in her career, Mendes disagreed with calling herself an actor entirely. Instead, she saw herself as the anti-actor.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-what-made-eva-mendes-an-anti-actor”>What made Eva Mendes an anti-actor</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Antiactor-Eva-Mendes.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=’Eva Mendes attends the “La dolce vita” world restoration premiere during The 5th International Rome Film Festival in a red dress.’ class=”wp-image-3790311″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Eva Mendes | Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-2_43″>Back when Mendes was more passionate about the film industry, she craved to be taken seriously as an actor. She enjoyed success doing projects like <em>Ghost Rider </em>and <em>2 Fast 2 Furious</em>, which were blockbusters that offered Mendes nice paychecks and mainstream exposure.</p>
<p id=”par-3_76″>However, Mendes longed to develop <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/eva-mendes-felt-we-own-the-night-gave-indie-cred.html/”>her indie credibility</a>, since she felt independent features would’ve offered her more respectable roles. She got the opportunity to stretch her acting chops even further by starring in the film <em>Holy Motors</em> by Leos Carax. Mendes was cast in a very small, non-speaking role in the 2012 art house project. But she was such a fan of Carax’s work that she was glad to be included in the movie at all.</p>
<p id=”par-4_86″>“It was all so exotic and wonderful. He was just as strange as I’d hope he be. He told me of a possible role that I would be right for that had no dialogue. I was like, ‘This is so up my alley.’ And he said that all my scenes were to take place in Père Lachaise Cemetery, in Paris. And that’s one of my favorite places in the whole world. It’s just so beautiful and romantic there,” she once said in an interview with <a href=”https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/qa-holy-motors-star-eva-mendes-im-finally-acting-in-the-films-that-i-want-to-see-43313/”>IndieWire</a>.</p>
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<p id=”par-5_42″>But the fact that she didn’t have to speak any dialogue leaned into Mendes’ sensibilities as a performer. She revealed that she’d often minimize her own dialogue in her films, which made her a type of actor that wasn’t common in Hollywood.</p>
<p id=”par-6_48″>“I’m kind of the anti-actress in the sense in that I’m always trying to strip away dialogue, I’m always trying to cut dialogue,” she said. “It’s funny, but that’s just how I feel more comfortable, when I have to communicate my feelings through my behavior or my actions.”</p>
<p id=”par-7_13″>Instead, Mendes feels her body language is a true showcase of her skills.</p>
<p id=”par-8_37″>“It’s just one of those things I’ve noticed about myself, especially these last few years. It’s so fun to just eliminate dialogue. Sometimes things become very expository. Sometimes it feels like we say too much,” she added.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-eva-mendes-felt-like-her-acting-skills-didn-t-match-her-taste”>Eva Mendes felt like her acting skills didn’t match her taste</h2>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/eva-mendes-doesnt-want-anymore-dark-movies-kids.html/”>
Eva Mendes Doesn’t Want to Do Anymore ‘Dark’ Movies Because of Her Kids </a>
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<p id=”par-9_62″>Mendes didn’t get the opportunity to star in the projects that she aspired to do in the beginning of her career. In her earlier days, it might’ve been difficult to imagine Mendes wanting to do more experimental, independent films. But the <em>Hitch </em>star admitted that she didn’t feel like she was a solid enough performer to carry roles that required strong acting.</p>
<p id=”par-10_77″>“I always set out to work with amazing filmmakers and be a part of amazing films. But unfortunately when I was starting out, let’s say my acting skills didn’t yet match my tastes. So although I was a David Lynch and Pedro Almodovar fan — that was where my taste [laid] and it still does — I wasn’t quite up to it when it came to my acting abilities because I was just starting out,” she said.</p>
<p id=”par-11_100″>At the time, Mendes believed she was in a good place. She was beginning to attract the kinds of roles she used to think were far out of her reach. However, Mendes’ priorities changed drastically after her and Ryan Gosling’s kids were born. She left the film industry to focus on being a mother, and her passion for acting waned as a result. And although she doesn’t rule out returning to the big screen, she’s not rushing to make a comeback. If she did, Mendes most likely wouldn’t do the kinds of movies she did before <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/eva-mendes-doesnt-want-anymore-dark-movies-kids.html/”>for her kids’ sake</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-12_41″>“I was never in love with acting. I don’t mean this in a self-deprecating way, but I wasn’t a great actress,” Mendes said in an interview with <a href=”https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/celebrity/article/eva-mendes-i-feel-really-fing-sexy-hhvwtmjvg”>The Sunday Times</a>. “I had my moments when I worked with really great people.”</p>