Eva Mendes has acting lessons

Eva Mendes still goes to acting classes because she was told even the best painters never stop practising.

Eva Mendes still takes acting classes.

The 37-year-old beauty believes there is always something new to learn about her craft and thinks it is important to seek regular guidance from experts.

She said: "I still go to acting class. I get very excited about it.

"I just finished a four-day intensive, where you work from 9am to 9pm in pairs and put on a play for this tiny group in Santa Monica.

"If it's in New York, we do it off-Broadway and you get critiqued.

"I've been taking classes for 12 years and Larry Moss, who held last week's class, had a great point. He says if you're a good painter or cellist, you don't stop practising.

"I feel like with my acting, it's only the tip of the iceberg."

Eva - whose parents are Cuban - also admitted she thinks it is harder for ethnic minority women to land big roles in Hollywood.

She told Stylist magazine: "I know it's boring, but it's just very difficult to be a woman in this business and even more difficult if you're an ethnic woman.

"I wouldn't be cast in a classic. I don't want to keep saying it and making this my thing, but we need more diversity.

"It's like my friend Lucy Liu, she's such a talented actress, but there are very few roles for Asian-American or black women."