But while it’s no secret who Carlo’s sister is—and no matter what he does, “People will be, ‘Oh yeah, Eva Mendes’ brother'”—he has made a point of trading on his talent, not his familial connections.
“Anytime I’ve ever auditioned or booked something, it’s never been because of her,” Carlo said. “And she’s like, ‘Whatever you need, let me know,’ but I want to be great. Because if I’m not good, and she gives me the opportunity and I blow it…
Which is why, he added, “I study hard, I work hard, I know that I can do it. Then eventually, the push will come when the time is ready. You can’t force anything.”
Not that he’d turn down an opportunity to act with his sister, should a project need, say, someone to play her younger brother.
They talked in the past about teaming up, Carlo said, but “the timing has to be right, when she’s ready to get back into acting.”
Meanwhile, both Ryan and Eva have said that they would love to work together again one day, Eva calling the experience of making the 2015 drama Lost River—which Ryan wrote and directed—“so creatively satisfying” and Ryan recently saying that costarring with her in The Place Beyond the Pines was his “greatest experience” on a film set.
And they already know who can play the role of Brother.
But even if they never share a big screen again, keep reading to enjoy photos of Eva and Ryan’s love story in real life:
