Eva Mendes Reveals Her One Regret About Kissing Johnny Depp On-Screen—And Why She’ll Never Forget It

Long before she settled into domestic bliss with Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes had a screen moment so sizzling, it still lingers in her memory decades later. The actress, known for her candid charm and roles in films like Hitch and Training Day, once opened up about the kiss that caught her completely off guard: her on-screen lip-lock with Johnny Depp in Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

In a throwback interview with US Weekly (as cited by Digital Spy), Mendes admitted she had one lingering regret about the 2003 film directed by Robert Rodriguez. “I regret not kissing Johnny Depp for longer,” she confessed, with the kind of honesty that fans have come to love. “I was so intimidated by him. It was the first time I had worked with an actor who I had crushed on as a little girl.”

By the time she shared the screen with Depp, Mendes was no Hollywood rookie. She’d already acted opposite stars like Nicolas Cage, Gabriel Macht, and Will Smith, but there was something different about Depp. Maybe it was the mystery, the swagger, or the childhood crush factor—but whatever it was, it clearly left an impression.

“All of my screen kisses were the best,” Mendes joked, before circling back to the Pirates of the Caribbean star as the one that stuck with her most. Their shared scene in the stylish, guns-blazing Once Upon a Time in Mexico may have been brief, but the chemistry was undeniable—even Mendes couldn’t help fangirling.

This confession came well before Mendes began her real-life love story with The Notebook’s Ryan Gosling, her longtime partner and father of their two daughters. Now one of Hollywood’s most famously private and enduring couples, Mendes and Gosling are the picture of low-key romance. But that doesn’t mean Mendes can’t reflect on a time when her heart skipped a beat on set—not from a script, but from a schoolgirl crush turned real-life kiss.

Let’s be honest: a steamy moment with Johnny Depp in the prime of his brooding 2000s allure is enough to make anyone swoon. And Mendes’ reflection only adds to the legend of Depp as a co-star who doesn’t just share a scene—he steals a memory.

As Mendes herself put it, it was a missed opportunity—but one that clearly left its mark. Because even with lights, cameras, and an audience of ten crew members, some moments still feel real. And for Eva Mendes, that kiss with Johnny Depp was one of them.