Eva Longoria on mastering Castilian Spanish, working with Carmen Maura on 'Land of Women'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Eva Longoria is not one to shy away from a challenge.

Charting her return to television, Longoria decided it was time to do something new: tackle a dual English-Spanish role.

“‘If I’m going to return to TV, I want it to be different, and I want to be challenged, and I want people to see me in a different way,’” Longoria said about why she wanted to star in the Apple TV+ series “Land of Women.”

Longoria’s first bilingual television part included another challenge: interchangeably acting in English and Castilian Spanish, a dialect spoken in northern and central Spain.

“I was like, ‘I’ve never acted in Spanish. I’d like to do that,’” said Longoria. “If I’m going to go back on TV, I want it to be with something special and so it was worth all the effort of learning Castilian Spanish.”

The Mexican American actor said she didn’t grow up speaking Spanish but is familiar with Mexican Spanish thanks to her husband and the time they’ve spent living in Mexico City. Taking on Castilian Spanish was another challenge for the actor.

“I was just like my brain hurt at the end of the days. But it was a joy. I love exploring new characters through language or through accents,” she said.

“Land of Women” is based on Sandra Barneda’s novel “La Tierra de las Mujeres.” The television dramedy follows Longoria as Gala, an upper-class New York socialite whose entire world is turned upside down when her husband fails to repay his debt to a group of sleazy characters. To protect her mother and only daughter, Gala whisks them away on a trip to her mother’s Spanish hometown.

“Land of Women” marks her return to the television screen as a comedic series lead since her breakthrough role as Gabrielle Solis on “Desperate Housewives.”

It was on that set that Longoria told a director about her desire to direct. “I was like, ‘I think I’m going to direct.’ And he goes, ‘You’d be good at it.’”

That affirmation gave Longoria the confidence to pursue the craft and grow her skills.

“What gave me confidence was doing. You only learn by doing,” said the multihyphenate creative and businesswoman. “I’ve been directing for the past 12 years. I never stopped.”

She recently took her feature directorial debut, “Flamin’ Hot,” to the Oscars, where it was nominated for best original song with songwriter Diane Warren and recording artist Becky G.

In addition to “Land of Women,” Longoria will be back on TV screens with a recurring role in the upcoming season of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.”

Before embarking on “Land of Women,” Longoria knew she wanted her next project set in Spain, but she wasn’t expecting to share the screen with Spanish icon Carmen Maura.

“I was so excited when they told me Carmen Maura was going to be my mother. I was like, ‘Wahh!’ Because she’s such a legend,” said the actor and producer.

Longoria says she was nervous about embarking on the challenge of acting in Spanish and doing comedy in the Spanish dialect opposite Maura.

“It was all very stressful. But then I met her,” said Longoria. “She was amazing. And she helped me along. And she is just a delight and obviously super talented. But in this character of Julia, she’s spectacular.”

The series, which also features newcomer Victoria Bazua, is now streaming on Apple TV+.