Mendes: 'Winslet gets all the roles I want'

WENN, Monday, November 9, 2009, 5:36pm (PST)

Eva Mendes fears she'll have to wait until Oscar winner Kate Winslet retires from acting to start landing the gritty dark roles she dreams of - because the Brit gets the parts she longs for.

Mendes hopes her new role in thriller Bad Lieutenant brings her to the attention of directors who want to find Hollywood's new tough girl - and then maybe she'll be considered for films Winslet doesn't land.

She says, "Kate Winslet gets all of the gritty roles, understandably so! She is my idol and I just think she's done it the right way.

"She is not only an amazing actress but she knows how to run her career and I respect her so much, but there's got to be room for more, for all women. I want more roles out there for women that have more colours and layers, like men have.

"They are hard to come by, so sometimes I create them. I produced a film called Live! which I gave myself a great role in, playing a television network president. It's coming out on DVD next month."

But even that's not enough - and her new role opposite Nicolas Cage made her long to be in his shoes: "F**k, when do I get to be the Bad Lieutenant? I get a little role envy if I'm being honest."