Funding ‘John Wick’ kick-started Eva Longoria’s investing career. Now, it’s her day job.

You really have a magic touch in investing. What is the secret to being successful at this?

It’s a lot of work. This is my day job. The amount of days I dedicate to going to distributors and shaking hands with retailers for my tequila is the majority of my year. Going to the restaurants and bartending at events to bring brand awareness. And the same thing with Siete. Doing the social media, going into the research kitchen, looking at the market and seeing what we want to represent in our culture in a mainstream market, is it the healthy choice? It’s a lot of work. I’m not just writing checks. It’s my sweat. 

Looking back, how significant was the “John Wick” investment in your investing career today? If it crashed and burned, would you still have been willing to invest again?

That’s a good question. I don’t know if that would have put a bad taste in my mouth. I’m really lucky to have had amazing investors around me and I’m intensely curious. I always ask, “How does my money make money?” I’ve been obsessed with that. I want to be making money while I’m sleeping. So surrounding myself with people who can tell me what is risky and what isn’t is good. “How much are you willing to lose?” is always a big question. [Laughs.] I’m like, “How much am I willing to lose?” Nothing! Zero. 

How much is acting a priority in your life now?

I’ve been behind the camera for the last 12 years and I finally went back in front of the camera with a show for Apple [“Land of Women”]. I also did “Searching for Mexico” and “Searching for Spain” on CNN. But that’s a bit of an extension of my food brand. I have a cook book coming out. I really want to do stuff that I love with people that I love. That’s the blueprint. 

Are you still on the grind of looking through scripts to find projects?

Yes, but for my media company, Hyphenate Media. Producing and directing is still my core. That’s the tentpole of the circus. That’s what holds everything up. So I’m now reading scripts and developing shows for other people.

I want to make 40-50 more Eva Longorias. I don’t want to star in everything, I want to build up the next generation of actors and writers and producers from the Latino community and also women. So that’s, again, that purpose-driven aspect of everything that I do. What am I doing? What am I saying? Is it going to make a difference? 

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.