Eva Mendes explains why she’s not starred in a movie since 2014

As you may have noticed, Eva Mendes has taken quite a lengthy hiatus from Hollywood.

It's been a decade since we last saw her do her thing on the big screen when she starred in Lost River - which she described as her 'proudest' acting gig of her career, as it was also her husband Ryan Gosling's directorial debut.

At least she went out on a high, I suppose.

By that point, the pair had already been dating for three years after meeting on the set of The Place Beyond The Pines and the actress was expecting their first child, so it really was quite a turning point for the two stars.

They then welcomed their daughter Esmeralda Amada Gosling, 9, followed by another little girl named Amada Lee Gosling, 7 - and although their family had swollen in size, the number of films Mendes starred in shrunk.

She and Gosling are keen to keep their private life under wraps and rarely discuss their lifestyle choices with the media, but the Training Day star has now set the record straight about her decision to step away from the spotlight.

During an appearance on NBC's Today Show on Tuesday (26 March), the 50-year-old opened up about why she chose to prioritise full-time motherhood over making movies.

NBC

That's not to say it's an easy ride - Mendes admitted getting her two kids in bed usually takes around two hours.

But as the spouse of one of the biggest actor's on the planet who she met on a film set, how on earth has she been able to withdraw herself from the glitz and glamour of being a cinema star?

Mendes explained: "Unfortunately - or fortunately - there is only one Ryan. So I pretty much stopped acting after that [having children].

"It was a no-brainer. I'm so lucky and I was like, if I can have this time with my children...

"And I still worked! I just didn't act, because acting takes you on locations, it takes you away," she continued.

Sonia Recchia/Getty Images

"It was almost just like a non-verbal agreement that it was like, 'Okay. He [Gosling] is going to work, and I'm going to work - I'm just going to work here."

Although the most recent experience on her CV would be 'stay at home mum', Mendes joked that her role as the primary caregiver actually doesn't involve staying at home very much.

"You do a lot of driving, every day," the Hitch actress added. "I’m going here to pickups, this, that."

She is more than happy to sit back and watch as her hubby gets his flowers for all his hard work in the industry, although Mendes prefers not to join him on the red carpet.

The actress was full of praise for her Oscar-winning baby daddy and discussed her admiration for 'the way he works, his commitment to his craft, how he wants to make everything the best that it can be'.