Eva Longoria Interview on Dine Commercial, Desperate Housewives, Cooking, Fashion and More

by Jessica Chandra 0

Eva Longoria’s days as Gabrielle Solis may be over after Desperate Housewives came to an end in May after an eight-season run, but the actress still has lots on her plate — and we’re not just talking about food, which she clearly loves! Eva recently shot a global TV campaign for cat food Dine, which she was drawn to because of its ‘Follow Your Passion’ theme. She also revealed the other things she’s passionate about away from acting — check them out below.

How did you feel about being part of the Dine campaign?
I was really excited to be a part of the Dine campaign for 2012. I thought it was brilliant to incorporate passion for life through whatever your interests may be. For me, it’s cooking, dancing or acting. I also find passion for relationships really important and some of those relationships happen to be with animals, so I thought it was very clever of Dine to come up with this campaign.

What are some of the passions in your life?
The focus on passion really inspired me to be involved in this campaign as the idea of passion is pretty central to who I am. I'm passionate about cooking, my work and also about my relationships — whether it’s with my family, loved ones or animals. I have a great passion for philanthropy. About 80 percent of the time in my day is spent on some sort of charity that I’m working with. I got the philanthropic spirit growing up — it was a passion which my family passed on to me. I work a lot with children and children’s health, the Latino and women’s community and just advocating for different issues and policies which would help make these people’s lives a lot better.

More from Eva when you keep reading.

Tell us about your passion for cooking?
I have such a passion for cooking and I cook everything — Mexican, Italian, American and French. I created a cookbook which encompassed food from all these cultures and it’s kind of a memoir of my life told through food. Cooking is definitely therapeutic for me; I find it really soothing to go home and cook. Some people find cooking quite stressful but I find it really relaxing.

What’s next for you in 2012?
I’m going to take a break. I have a couple of movies coming out so I’ll be doing press for them, and I’m going to be travelling a lot. I’m also doing a lot of work for the re-election campaign for Obama so I’ll be travelling all over the United States campaigning for him and targeting the Latino and the women’s community to re-elect him.

Is there anything similar between you and your Desperate Housewives character Gabrielle?
Gabby and I are exact opposites. Playing her has been a lot of fun so I’m definitely going to have Gabby withdrawals. It’s always fun to play something or someone you’re not as you get to explore feelings you wouldn’t usually explore in life. Gabby always says and does things that people wish they could say and do, so I always find playing her really liberating.

You always look amazing. What’s your fitness regime?
I’m a healthy eater and I’m really into a good diet. I eat pretty healthily and I work out with a personal trainer. I recently cut out sugar from my diet which was harder than you’d think — no rice, no pasta, no bread and nothing which turns into sugar. I did the diet for about 30 days and saw great results so I’ve kind of just continued along that path.

What are your fashion tastes?
My fashion motto is ‘comfortable’. I like to be comfortable in my skin but also feel physically comfortable. I do so many events and so many galas and there’s nothing worse than sitting in a gown which you can’t breathe in. I usually start with comfort and then colour, so they are my two barometers of what I’m going to wear. I love colour and don’t like to wear black. I love red, orange, purple and blue.

If you weren’t an actress, what would you be?
If I wasn’t an actress, I’d probably be a business woman. I have a very strong business mind and I’m very entrepreneurial. There’s much more of a structured path in the business world, which I like. I love having measurable obtainments which is tough in the acting world; you could follow my exact career path but not achieve the same results.