IN the sunny back garden of a home in North London, Eva Longoria is going full Mexican – dressed as a Day Of The Dead ghost, while a mariachi band plays in the background.
Er, why? Whatever happened to the Desperate Housewives beauty that she turned into a ghoul?
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Actress Eva Longoria opens up on her life, including her friendship with the BeckhamsCredit: Getty
Eva at David Beckham’s 50th birthdayCredit: Instagram
Stunner Eva starred on Desperate HousewivesCredit: Disney General Entertainment Con
No, she was not in town for a Halloween party. She was shooting her latest movie — a musical remake of Charles Dickens tale A Christmas Carol, in which she plays one of the three ghosts.
The movie, Christmas Karma, is out here on November 14 and directed by Kenyan-born female director Gurin-der Chadha, whose other hits include 1993 comedy Bhaji On The Beach and 2019 coming-of-age drama Blinded By The Light.
When Mexican-American Eva heard about the film, she wanted in — and when cast as the Ghost of Christmas Past, in a nod to her Mexican heritage, she suggested her apparition be themed on the country’s Day Of The Dead festival in celebration of her ancestors.
I love tea. Every time I am in England I love to drink tea
Eva
But what excited Eva most was working with Culture Club singer Boy George — who plays the Ghost of Christmas Future alongside American Kinky Boots star Billy Porter as the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Taking a break from filming to chat to me about her love of all things British, from Boy George and the Beckhams to tea and football, she says of the 64-year-old hitmaker: “Oh my God, icon! I am such a fan. He is huge in America.”
She adds of filming with the I’m A Celebrity Star, real name George O’Dowd: “He’s amazing, he was so kind. He was kind of nervous, I think.
“All I wanted to do was get stories out of him.”
Ladies’ football
Indeed, Boy George is far from the only Eighties British music act Eva is mad for.
“Were The Police English?” she asks. Er, yes.
“Were The Police English?” she asks. Er, yes. Then she adds, “Other favourite band — Duran Duran”, and “Ooh, Dexys Midnight Runners . . . ”
But Eva was also attracted by Christmas Karma’s play on Britain’s multi-cultural make-up.
In the movie, Scrooge is an Asian-Ugandan immigrant called Sood, played by The Big Bang Theory’s Brit star Kunal Nayyar — and Eva, whose husband is Mexican and parents are of Mex-ican descent, says: “I like that Gurinder has done the film from an immigrant perspective.”
It also stars Cockney cheeky chappie Danny Dyer as a singing cabbie and Bad Education star Leo Suter as generous-hearted Bob Cratchit.
The star says she loved her childhoodCredit: Eva Longoria Baston
Gurinder, joining Eva and I for part of our chat over cheese and crackers, says: “I have kids and wanted to make a film about the Britain that I know and love and I want for my kids — and not just for my kids.”
Meanwhile Eva, embellishing on her enthusiasm for Blighty, adds: “I love tea. Every time I am in England I love to drink tea.”
And then there is her friendship with the Beckhams.
She has been close pals with David and Victoria since 2007, when he began his footballing swansong with US soccer side LA Galaxy — and latterly sees him when he is in the States as co-owner of another US soccer club, Inter Miami CF.
Eva, 50, who is godmother to the Beckhams’ daughter Harper, 14, says of the former England captain: “I am a fan of David Beckham, I watch David. He’s very smart. I see David and Victoria in Miami.”
She also attended David’s 50th birthday party at the Core restaurant in Notting Hill, West London, in May.
I don’t want to correct my mistakes. I love the path I was on, holes and all
Eva
Like David, she turned 50 this year — but says: “I don’t mind ageing. I think I am going to age well.”
And like fashion designer Victoria, who she calls her “sister”, Eva is an entrepreneur whose forays into business have included fashion, spirits and football clubs — and the latter is a passion she shares with David.
She bought Los Angeles ladies’ team Angel City with Black Swan actress Natalie Portman in 2020 and, a year later, invested in one of Mexico’s top clubs, Necaxa.
Eva’s fellow Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds, now owner of Welsh footie club Wrexham FC, has a share in Necaxa and Eva is fronting a fly-on-the-wall documentary series about the 102-year-old club.
She says: “Female soccer is huge in the US. Natalie Portman dared to dream, ‘What if we built a team with majority female investors?’ — and it worked.”
Her big break with US TV comedy drama Desperate Housewives, which ran from 2004 to 2012, made Eva a global star and a stack of film roles followed — this year she is in SIX.
Eva going full Mexican – dressed as a Day of the Dead ghost
Eva with her hubby and sonCredit: Instagram
But finding fame and fortune, and hobnobbing with Boy George and the Beckhams, has not come easy — the road to success has been one of heartbreak, money worries and tears.
Eva has been through two divorces, from actor Tyler Christopher in 2004 and former basketball star Tony Parker in 2011, but reckons this has made her stronger.
The actress, who married Mexican businessman Jose Baston in 2016 and has son Santiago, seven, with him, says: “I wouldn’t give my younger self advice. I wouldn’t say, ‘Don’t marry that guy’ or, ‘Watch that left turn’.
Student loan
“I don’t want to correct my mistakes. I love the path I was on, holes and all.”
Texas-born Eva grew up in an environment where excess was frowned upon — her family lived off the land on a ranch near the coastal city of Corpus Christi.
But her teacher mum Ella did secretly allow her four daughters to enjoy some treats.
Eva recalls: “I loved my childhood — I grew up on a ranch, with chickens, pigs and cows. My dad made us eat off the land — we could only eat what we grew.
“My mum would get paid once a month, she was a teacher, and on her pay day she would get Domino’s pizza and we would eat it and hide the pizza box in the neighbour’s trash so my dad wouldn’t know we ate out.
“That’s how I grew up. My dad was like, ‘The land will give us what we need’.”
During holidays from high school, though, Eva worked at a branch of the Wendy’s burger chain for three years — and when she did not have enough money to finish college at the age of 21, she won a beauty pageant to help pay the fees.
The prize for another beauty pageant was a trip to LA and it was only there that she first thought about being an actress.
TV is just a machine, movies are art
Eva
Eva explains how she struggled to make ends meet in Hollywood, working as an extra and a headhunter, before getting roles in the American TV soap operas Beverly Hills 90210, General Hospital and The Young And The Restless.
She recalls: “I loved my struggle, I loved when I moved to Hollywood and had six dollars in my bank account.
“I love my failures, that’s where you grow and learn.
“I was in the rat race and I was in auditions, and I was in corporate America and I was in many jobs at one time, and I struggled to pay my rent and I had a student loan and I went through that — and I would never change my experience of hardship or touching every rung of the ladder.
“I like that because it makes me appreciate this position I am in more now.”
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Now she is happy as can be — and keen to tackle more film projects like her latest ghostly shenanigans.
She says: “TV is just a machine, movies are art.”
A still from upcoming film Christmas Karma, starring Danny DyerCredit: Freuds
Christmas Karma is a musical remake of Charles Dickens tale A Christmas Carol, in which she plays one of the three ghosts