More than two decades after playing the mother of two-school-aged children in Spy Kids, Carla Gugino is still wondering how she landed the role at the age of just 27.
During an interview with BuzzFeed, the now 52-year-old actress recalled her experience making the film, which turned out to be a franchise consisting of three original films with Robert Rodriguez at the helm.
Playing the wife of Antonio Banderas, the Sarasota, Florida native played Ingrid Cortez, a retired OSS agent turned consultant worker, and mother to kids Juni and Carmen who were supposed to be ages nine and 11.
‘It is so funny because I was 27,’ she said of the original movie that ended up being a big hit. ‘It was a really beautiful kind of double-edged sword because I love that movie so much. And the whole experience was incredible, and the movies continue.’
The leading lady went on to share how she just adored her character, but still can’t get over the fact that she was far too young to portray the mother.
Carla Gugino is still stumped at how she landed the role of Ingrid Cortez, a retired OSS agent and mother to kids ages nine and 11 in the film Spy Kids (2001), when she was just 27
During an interview with BuzzFeed , the now 52-year-old actress recalled her experience making the film, which turned out to be a franchise consisting of three original films with Robert Rodriguez at the helm; seen in March
‘I love Ingrid Cortes,’ she said of her role. ‘But it was funny because I was 10 years, at least, too young for the role because I was a spy for 10 years and then somehow had children who were like 9 and 11,’ she added while laughing. ‘So it was physically totally impossible.’
As for Banderas, 63, and his 11-year age gap with Gugino, he was much more age appropriate as he was 38 at the time of the shoot.
It turns out Rodriguez had been shooting for two weeks by the time he hired Gugino for Spy Kids.
‘He was like, ‘I feel like I’m looking for a mother for my kids.’ We were talking about it, and I had auditioned for him and he said, ‘I think if we do our job right, no one will ever question it,” the actress recalled, while referencing her young age for the role.
After admitting no one really did question her age, she went on to reveal she felt her past history working with Banderas on a movie called Miami Rhapsody with David Frankel directing helped ease her into the role.
Gugino and Banderas played parents to Juni Cortez and Carmen Cortez, portrayed by Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara in the original three films that also included the sequels Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams (2002) and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003).
Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez, the first of the spy action comedy films became a big hit with both critics and fans, grossing $147.9 million against a budget of $35 million.
Playing the wife of Antonio Banderas , the Sarasota, Florida native played Ingrid Cortez, a retired OSS agent turned consultant worker, and mother to kids Juni and Carmen who were supposed to be ages nine and 11
‘I love Ingrid Cortes,’ she said of her role. ‘But it was funny because I was 10 years, at least, too young for the role because I was a spy for 10 years and then somehow had children who were like 9 and 11,’ she added while laughing. ‘So it was physically totally impossible’; seen in 2022
The success helped it earn the distinction of being among the top 20 highest-grossing films of 2001.
The cast also featured the likes of Danny Trejo, Alan Cumming, George Clooney, Teri Hatcher, Cheech Marin, Robert Patrick and Tony Shalhoub.
The core cast of Gugino, Banderas, PenaVega and Sabara also starred together in Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams (2002), which was another bonafide hit raking in $119.7 million while working from a $38 million budget.
The last of the trilogy, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003), earned even more than the first two, grossing $197 million while spending $38 million on the production.
Rodriguez would explore some new characters with some from the original for Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (2011) with Jessica Alba, Joel McHale, Rowan Blanchard, Mason Cook, Ricky Gervais and Jeremy Piven joining with Vega and Sabara.
Ultimately, the filmmaker rebooted the family-friendly action series entirely with last year’s Netflix movie Spy Kids: Armageddon, this time co-starring Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi as super spy parents.
After the success of the original Robert Rodriguez returned to write and direct Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams (2002) with the core four stars Carla Gugino, Antonio Banderas, Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara
The second sequel Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over starred Ricardo Montalban with returnees Daryl Sabara, Alexa Vega, Carla Gugino and Antonio Banderas
Gugino currently stars in the Max political drama series The Girls On The Bus, created by Amy Chozick and Julie Plec.
It also stars Melissa Benoist, Christina Elmore, Natasha Behnam and Brandon Scott.
Her Hollywood resume includes roles in such films as This Boy’s Life (1993), Snake Eyes (1998), Sin City (2005), Night at the Museum (2006), American Gangster (2007), Race to Witch Mountain (2009), Mr. Popper’s Penguins (2011), and the series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023).
