He’s already an Oscar-nominated actor, a gifted singer and a talented dancer.
But Ryan Gosling can now add publicist and agent to his impressive resume, after he paused an event in Los Angeles to help get his brother-in-law an acting gig.
The Hollywood star, 45, was onstage to promote his new film, Project Hail Mary, but instead chose to praise and boost the profile of his longtime partner Eva Mendes‘ brother, Carlos Mendez.
Like his elder sister, Carlos is also in the acting industry, having been inspired as a child by seeing Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones.
He began acting in 1995 and has starred in over 80 different film and TV projects over the years, including Parks and Recreation, 90210 and Dexter: Original Sin, but has never come close to the feats of his famous brother-in-law.
But Ryan sought to rectify that at his film event last week, as he issued a public plea for movie execs to cast Carlos in their next projects, calling him ‘the hardest-working nonworking actor in this town that I have ever met’.
Ryan Gosling can now add publicist and agent to his impressive resume, after he paused an event in Los Angeles to help get his brother-in-law an acting gig
The Hollywood star, 45, was onstage to promote his new film, Project Hail Mary, but instead chose to praise and boost the profile of his longtime partner Eva Mendes’ brother, Carlos Mendez (seen together)
Like his elder sister, Carlos is also in the acting industry, but has never come close to the feats of his famous brother-in-law (seen with Eva)
A TikToker captured a video of the La La Land star interrupting the moderator to call on his brother-in-law to stand up, saying: ‘Can I stop you one second? Carlos are you in the audience? Can you stand up for a second.’
As an embarrassed Carlos gets to his feet, Ryan then addresses the crowd, saying: ‘Okay, how many of you are directors? Raise your hands. How many producers? How many writers?
‘This is Carlos Mendez, he’s Eva Mendes’ brother. He is the hardest-working nonworking actor in this town that I have ever met.’
Heaping praise on Carlos’ talents and work ethic, the Barbie star begged the audience: ‘So my Hail Mary is, please, hire this man! He deserves it.’
As the audience cheered, he continued: ‘Get his number. If you’re writing something, directing something, put him in it. He deserves it. He’s as talented as he is handsome.’
Sharing the sweet clip on social media, the TikToker quipped: ‘Who knew that #RyanGosling would be your brother-in-law’s biggest hype man/publicist/agent!?!’
Carlos has opened up on his struggles to make it in the acting industry, and has previously insisted that he doesn’t want to use sister Eva for any favours.
‘It’s tough, I’ve been at it for about 16, 17 years now and I still have a long way to go,’ he admitted to Fox5 New York in February last year.
‘It’s the journey, I have to enjoy the journey of it. Every step and everything I get makes me a better actor and it makes me even hungrier to get what I want.’
Speaking recently to the Boston Herald, he acknowledged how tough it is to make it in Hollywood, saying: ‘Of course it’s been a struggle, up and down, like it is for everybody when it comes to acting.
‘You got your moments where you’re booked up – and then you don’t know where your next job is coming from. It’s a very tough industry. There’s a lot of competition. You just have to keep working hard.’
But Ryan sought to rectify that at his film event last week, as he issued a public plea for movie execs to cast Carlos in their next projects, calling him ‘the hardest-working nonworking actor in this town that I have ever met’
But he insisted he doesn’t benefit from having Eva as a sister, saying: ‘In having a famous sibling, most people don’t know unless they happen to find out we have the same last name.
‘We talk, but I don’t talk to her when it comes to the business. I’m not trying to ask for any favours. I’m just trying to do as much as I can on my own and prove myself as much as I can.’
However, Carlos is a doting uncle to Eva and Ryan’s two daughters, Esmeralda, 11, and Amada, nine, and has praised the couple as ‘amazing parents’.
He told E! News in 2024: ‘They really talk to the girls. The way they ask them questions – I’ve seen it – they’re like, ‘What do you think of this? What do you think of that?’ They are awesome.’
But he said he has no plans of his own to have children anytime soon, as his focus is on his acting career.
‘I see that having kids is a lot,’ he said. ‘If it happens, it happens. But I’m not looking forward to it right now. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino became dads at 80, so I got time. I have to make my career happen first, then I can have time.’
Earlier this week, Ryan revealed how his two daughters influenced the sartorial decisions he made in Project Hail Mary.
He stars in the sci-fi caper as a middle school science teacher who joins forces with an extra-terrestrial on a space adventure to prevent the sun from burning out.
Ryan, who is also a producer on the movie, shared that he and Eva ‘always want to find films that we can bring our kids to and have that core memory moment, but they’re hard to find. I felt like, OK, well, we might just have to make it.’
And he has shared that one of his daughters helped persuade him to wear spectacles in the movie, in an interview with USA Today.
Carlos has opened up on his struggles to make it in the acting industry, and has previously insisted that he doesn’t want to use sister Eva for any favours
Although Eva has referred to Ryan publicly as her ‘husband,’ they have never even confirmed whether they have officially gotten married (seen earlier this month)
‘When I was playing with the character, just trying stuff out, and I threw on some glasses, my daughter went: “You look smarter with glasses,”‘ he recalled.
‘And I was like: “Well, thank you very much. I think I will be wearing these in the film. Thank you for that note,”‘ said the star.
His children have ‘seen many cuts, and they’ve given many notes,’ Ryan explained, noting that Esmeralda and Amada are ‘the harshest critics, but they are always right, for the most part, and they’ve really been so helpful.’
The film was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the duo behind The Lego Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Based on a 2021 novel by Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary bowed in theaters last Friday and earned rave reviews to the tune of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ryan previously revealed that he made Project Hail Mary ‘for’ his daughters, in a recent interview with Access. ‘As a family, I’d like a movie like this that I’d like to see. I just feel really honored that I got to make one.’
He added: ‘My kids have seen multiple cuts. They give me multiple notes. They’re basically the only critics I care about, and they are very critical and very honest.’
Ryan and Eva met in 2011 while making the crime thriller The Place Beyond the Pines, which also featured Bradley Cooper and the late Ray Liotta.
They have proven a notable example of a long-lasting Hollywood union, and have kept their romance studiously out of the public eye.
Although Eva has referred to Ryan publicly as her ‘husband,’ they have never even confirmed whether they have officially gotten married.
