Actress Eva Mendes isn't afraid to admit that she uses her sex-symbol status to help her secure film roles.

“I don’t allow myself to be typecast, but when I have to turn up the heat and turn up the sexuality and I do an amazing Calvin Klein campaign it’s very conscious, that’s no accident. It’s very methodical on my part,” Mendes explained. “If I feel it's appropriate to show some nudity in the scenes then I go for it. As much as I use my sexuality, I have never felt exploited. I feel like it’s on my terms and I have no problem with it.”  

And while Mendes is one of the most in-demand actresses in Hollywood who has likely been all around the world, interestingly enough, she only made her first visit to the hurricane-torn New Orleans while filming her latest crime drama “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” in August last year. 

“It was exciting because we brought business there, but it was pretty devastating. I was in shock at some parts, I hadn’t been there ever so I was still in shock that this happened in our country,” Mendes told us while promoting the flick. “I felt we were somewhere else in certain areas. Our government failed this; you can see they failed this. It was pretty intense.”

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But in the making of “Bad Lieutenant”, the 35-year-old actress certainly got more than she bargained for when she signed on to play a prostitute and the object of Nic Cage’s affection. 

“There’s a scene where we’re stuck with this dog, the dog liked to (or had to) pass gas a lot. He was stinky,” Mendes said. “We had to be in a car all day with the windows rolled up because it was raining. Now New Orleans, summertime, heat, humidity, rain and a stinky dog in the car – it was disgusting. It was so disgusting at times we couldn’t even breathe. The poor baby, every time we saw him after that if went from ‘hi, how are you?’ to ‘argh… the farter!’” 

So while having a smelly canine isn’t exactly on Ms Mendes’s wish list, she definitely does want to go to some pretty pungent places. “I want crazier, edgier, darker, and grittier. I am still a student, I still go to acting class,” she added. “The darker, more conflicted, the more flawed the better.”