Eva Mendes told partner Ryan Gosling that “years of hanging out with my Dad paid off” during his Saturday Night Live performance which saw him adopt a Cuban accent.
The sketch saw Barbie star Gosling play a character who had developed a Cuban accent after marrying a Cuban woman, while sporting a curly brown wig, tinted sunglasses, a yellow shirt and a chain.
Kenan Thompson, who also stars in the sketch alongside Marcello Hernandez, told a waitress (Sarah Sherman) that Gosling’s character “is from Tennessee but ever since he married a Cuban woman, he different”.
In the skit, Gosling says: “A Cuban wife can change you,” before explaining how he speaks “like a Cuban papi” after marrying a Cuban woman.
Miami-born actress Mendes, who is of Cuban descent, said on Instagram: “My Cuban Papi made this Cuban Mami so happy with this!!
“Years of hanging out with my Dad paid off.
“Gracias to the super talented @marcellohdz for this skit. The way you say ‘Eva Mendes’! And @kenanthompson always crushing.
“Can’t wait for this trio’s next reunion.”
Mendes was not the first to respond to 43-year-old Gosling’s SNL performance, as pop superstar Taylor Swift also praised him and British actress Emily Blunt for their parody of her hit track All Too Well.
“Watch me accidentally catch myself singing this version on tour. This monologue is everything,” Swift said on Instagram.
Mendes, 50, also reacted after Gosling performed I’m Just Ken at the 2024 Oscars ceremony.
“You took Ken all the way to the Oscar’s, RG. Now come home, we need to put the kids to bed,” she said on Instagram, sharing a picture backstage wearing the pink jacket Gosling donned for the performance.
Gosling and Mendes first met while starring in 2013’s The Place Beyond The Pines and share two daughters.
In 2017, Gosling paid tribute to his “sweetheart” Mendes on stage at the Golden Globes after winning an award for his role as Sebastian Wilder in La La Land.
During his speech, Gosling thanked Mendes for “raising our daughter, pregnant with our second, and trying to help her brother fight his battle with cancer” while he was “having one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on a film”.
“If she hadn’t taken that all on so I could have this experience, there would surely be someone else up here other than me today,” Gosling said.
