Eva Mendes has likened herself to Angelina Jolie after admitting that she once went through a phase of carrying a knife with her after her movie Training Day.

The 2001 flick required the actress to get nude, and Mendes used the weapon to protect herself from crazed fans.

She tells Interview magazine: "That was my controversial stage where I'd just started acting. I went through my little Angelina Jolie phase, like I was really tough.

“I had just come out in Training Day and I was nude in it, so I was getting a certain kind of attention.

"And I did carry a little blade. My God, with obviously no intention to ever use it. I had Mace as well. But the blade sounded cooler in interviews. I was young and stupid."