Eva Longoria says acting is ''a means to an end''.

The 'Desperate Housewives' star has admitted she had no intention of just becoming an actress and instead wants to use her popularity to form a ''platform'' for her charity work.

She said: ''I've always been business-minded. I worked in corporate America before becoming an actress and knew that acting wasn't the end but a means to an end.

''It gave me the platform and the exposure I needed to do my philanthropic work. It also gave me the financial security to focus on my other businesses, start new businesses, and even help other people start businesses.''

One of the 40-year-old actress' most high-profile projects is promoting equality - particularly within film and television - for all races.

She added to Glam Belleza Latina: ''What I want to do is create great content on television and movies. It is not my role to program only for Latinos, and you can't really assume that Hispanics only want Hispanic content. They're watching 'Scandal' and they're watching 'Cristela'.

''But I do think that we are severely underrepresented in television and film. And instead of complaining about not seeing ourselves, we should become film producers, directors, and writers, and tell our story.''