Carla Gugino is opening up about her role in Spy Kids.

The 52-year-old actress played Ingrid Cortez, the mother of Carmen (Alexa PenaVega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) in the 2001 film. She reprised her role in the two sequels, which released in 2002 and 2003. At the time of her casting, she was 27.

During a conversation with Buzzfeed, Carla reflected on playing a mother of school-aged children at that point in her life.

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“It is so funny because I was 27,” she 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.”

The Sucker Punch star added, “I love Ingrid Cortez. 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 also shared how director Robert Rodriguez handled her casting.

“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,’” she recalled.

Learn all there is to know about Carla Gugino‘s real-life partner Sebastian Gutierrez.