Eva Longoria might be politically engaged, but she won't be running for public office any time soon.

When asked by journalist Chris Wallace whether she would consider becoming a politician, the Tell It Like a Woman actress, 48, shot the idea down, saying she feels she has "more power" as a citizen in the current political landscape.

"No, no, and especially in this moment of politics," Longoria said in an interview for Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?, which dropped on HBO Max Friday morning and airs Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on CNN. "It's so divisive, and I don't see how there's faith in politicians in this moment."

She continued: "I can see where voter apathy comes in ... For me, I really strongly believe the most powerful part of democracy is the citizen. We have way more power as a citizen than as a politician."

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Wallace pushed back, calling Longoria "smart," "thoughtful" and "reflective" and asked why she wouldn't take on the politician role even though she embodied those ideal traits of a candidate and represented "a particular segment of the population."

"Well, I think that's the main thing. I am an activist and an advocate for many things and many causes but I don't speak for Latinos," she explained. "And I think that's what politicians get wrong, is they want to speak for people. 'I speak for women, I speak for Latinos.' I don't do any of those things."

"And what I try to encourage politicians to do is not knock on our door every four years with a taco truck and try to get our vote. Don't say our vote matters when our lives don't matter. You have to engage in these communities. Every day, not every four years," she added.

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The interview echoed what she had told CBS News' Lee Cowan earlier this week about using her voice to "make a difference."

"Here's the thing: The reality is you don't have to be a politician to be political," she said. "And I think that's the biggest myth. People go, 'You should run for office so you can make a difference.' I am making a difference."

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Longoria has been active in Democratic politics for decades, having volunteered for Bill Clinton's campaign back in 1992, long before she had her breakout role on Desperate Housewives. She also served as a campaign co-chair for Barack Obama in 2012 and helped campaign for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

"I quickly realized I was going to have a platform, or a voice," she told CBS News of being cast on a network television show as a Latina and helping to diversify the TV industry. "My mentor, [civil rights activist] Dolores Huerta, is the one that actually told me that. She said, 'One day, you're going to have a voice, so you better have something to say.'"