Fri., Sep. 4, 2009 7:37 AM PDT From >
Jesse Metcalfe may have made a name for himself by showing off his impressive pecs playing gardener John Rowland on Desperate Housewives, but that doesn''t mean he''ll be stripping down when he reprises his role in the upcoming season of the hit ABC series.
"I don''t think we''ll be seeing him shirtless," Eva Longoria Parker informed me yesterday. "You''ll be seeing a very different John Rowland."
Perhaps Longoria Parker can get Mr. Metcalfe to take off his shirt for charity...
On Sept. 10, she''s hosting Padres Contra el Cancer''s ninth annual El Sue?o de Esperanza fundraising gala and auction at the Hollywood Palladium with good friend George Lopez.
Among the honorees is hair guru to the stars Ken Paves. "Kenny''s done a lot regarding children with cancer," Longoria Parker explained. "He''s made wigs, and donated wigs, makeovers and his time. He''s really done a lot and he''s done it for free. People just see him as this celebrity hairstylist who gets to work with beautiful women. He''s so much more than that."
 
Even if requests for Padres'' help is at an all-time high, that doesn''t mean Parker is necessarily a supporter of full universal health care.
"Tony''s from France where they have free health care, and obviously it works for them," she said. "But then there are the downfalls to that, too. His family''s complained of certain things, and I think, ''Well, isn''t it great that you have it? Or is it not?'' I''m really kind of in the middle of the road."
However, she stressed, "free health care for children [should] absolutely be included" in any final health care reforms.
Longoria Parker said her longtime social activism began when she was a child. "My eldest sister was mentally disabled, and she''s a special needs child," she said. "My mother became a special education teacher because of it. Since I can remember speaking and walking, we were always volunteering."
Parker estimates about 80 percent of her time is now dedicated to philanthropic efforts. In addition to Padres Contra El Cancer, she''s currently producing Harvest, a documentary about child farm workers in the U.S. and she most recently shot a PSA promoting volunteerism for first lady Michelle Obama.
But let''s not forget her acting work. Not only does she have the sixth season of Desperate Housewives coming up, but she was just in Mexico shooting her first Spanish-language film, the thriller D?as de Gracia.
"It''s not my native language," she said. "I know Spanish, but to be able to act in it is a whole different story."
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