Carla Gugino says she was “at least” ten years too young for her role in 2001’s Spy Kids.
Speaking with BuzzFeed, per The Hollywood Reporter, Gugino reflected on playing Ingrid Cortes alongside Antonio Banderas in 2001’s Spy Kids, which was directed by Robert Rodriguez.
“It is so funny because I was 27,” Gugino said. “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.”
She continued, “I love Ingrid Cortes. 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. So it was physically totally impossible.”
Carla Gugino was cast in Spy Kids after the movie had started production
Gugino further said that Rodriguez was already two weeks into filming Spy Kids before she met with him and ultimately booked the role. “[Rodriguez] 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 original Spy Kids movie also stared Alexa Vega as Carmen Cortez, Daryl Sabara as Juni Cortez, Danny Trejo as Isador “Machete” Cortez, Alan Cumming as Fegan Floop, Teri Hatcher as Ms. Gradenko, Cheech Marin as Felix Gumm, Robert Patrick as Mr. Lisp, and Tony Shalhoub as Alexander Minion.
Gugino reprised her role as Ingrid Cortez in the subsequent two Spy Kids sequels, 2002’s Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams and 2003’s Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. The following two Spy Kids movies — 2001’s Spy Kids: All the Time in the World and 2023’s Spy Kids: Armageddon — each featured a new cast of characters.
Spy Kids is currently streaming on Paramount+ and Showtime.
