Eva Longoria admitted she had no problem being cast in “sexy” roles after her turn on Desperate Housewives, saying she said yes to acting roles that were oozing with sex appeal.
The 49-year-old actress played the role of Gabrielle Solis in all eight seasons of the ABC comedy series, which ran from 2004 to 2012. During that time, she had no problem being pigeonholed.
Eva exclusively told DailyMail.com that she wasn’t afraid of sexy roles because she knows she is ‘so much more’.
She said, ‘Someone asked me, “Aren’t you afraid of being put in a box, in the sexy category or in sexy roles?”
“And I thought, ‘That would be great. That would be great.’ I drive sexy to the beach. So I never really rushed with [that]. I am so much more.
Eva Longoria embraced being typecast in ‘sexy’ roles after appearing on Desperate Housewives
The actress, 49, played Gabrielle Solis on the ABC dramedy (pictured with Ricardo Antonio Chavira as Carlos Solis and Jesse Metcalfe as teenage gardener John Rowland)
“I thought, ‘No, I know I’m more, but I’ll take the sexy roles.’ I embraced it and it was fun and amazing.
“And when people still call me that today, I think, ‘Well, thank you. Thank you very much.'”
Eva’s character begins a sordid affair with her teenage gardener John Rowland, played by Jesse Metcalfe. The two are often seen in a steamy relationship, while Gaby tries to hide their illicit romance from her husband Carlos (Ricardo S. Chavira) and the residents of Wisteria Lane.
Throughout her career, she has taken on increasingly sexy roles, including the lead role in the 2008 romantic comedy Over Her Dead Body, opposite Paul Rudd and Lake Bell.
Eva, who is married to 56-year-old José Bastón, with whom she has a six-year-old son Santiago, also starred in the black comedy Lower Leaning that same year, opposite Jason Bigs and Rob Corddry.
It’s been 12 years since the last episode of Desperate Housewives aired. Although Eva would like to reprise her role in a reboot, she revealed that creator Marc Cherry has absolutely no desire to relive Wisteria Lane.
“I would be the first to sign up,” she said.
“I loved Desperate Housewives, and I loved my time on the show and I loved the women — and we still talk to each other.”
In the show, Eva’s character Gaby began a sordid affair with John, sharing several intimate scenes
I know I’m more, but I take the sexy roles… And if people still call me that today, I think, ‘Well, thank you. Thank you very much,'” she told DailyMail.com
Eva also starred in the 2008 romantic comedy Over Her Dead Body, opposite Paul Rudd
“Marc Cherry, our creator, doesn’t want to do a reboot. He really believes there’s nothing left to say about these characters.”
Eva’s Gaby was one of four housewives alongside Bree Van de Kamp, Lynette Scavo and Susan Mayer, played by Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman and Teri Hatcher respectively.
The series, which followed their lives on the fictional Wisteria Lane after the mysterious suicide of a neighbor, was groundbreaking for its cast consisting mostly of over-40s and all women.
Eva explained why Marc refuses to revisit the popular quartet: “I’ve talked to him several times. I was like, ‘Marc, we need to do a reboot every now and then.’ But he feels like we came at a time where it was really groundbreaking and we were a dramedy and there wasn’t another dramedy at that time.
“And we were, you know, actors over 40 and it was like it was a big deal. And now it’s not.”
She continued, “Desperate Housewives was at a point where it was 24 episodes a year for eight years. None of that six- to eight-episode nonsense.
“So it feels like we’ve fully explored these characters. Like I couldn’t sleep with one more person on Wisteria Lane. I’ve slept with everybody! I’ve fought with everybody.
“And so he felt he had nothing but mine. I would be on board. I would be the first. He knows it.”
Eva has loudly expressed interest in reprising her role on Desperate Housewives in a reboot
Eva, who last played a role in Apple drama Land of Women, previously told DailyMail.com that the series should have hired an intimacy coordinator as she opened up about what it was really like filming so many racy scenes with Jesse.
“I had a lot of intimate scenes,” she said. “We both came from soaps, which wasn’t bad, but there were a lot of kissing scenes. So we both thought, OK, whatever. We didn’t really do it, it didn’t bother us.
“But looking back on it now, I think, oh my gosh, we probably should have had an intimacy coordinator in case anyone felt uncomfortable.
‘But Jesse and I were so close that we had a really nice relationship and made agreements about what we felt comfortable with.’
She continued, “Plus, we were on network TV, so we couldn’t do much anyway.”