When Eva Longoria Parker was first drawn to “Over Her Dead Body,” opening Feb. 1, it wasn’t for the more prominent, sweet female love-interest role (taken by newcomer Lake Bell). Oh no, she was more interested in the part of a spirited spirit who works from beyond to stop Bell from hooking up with her former fiancé, played by Paul Rudd.

After all, at the time the romantic comedy was called “Ghost Bitch.” How could a star of the deliciously dark-hearted “Desperate Housewives” resist?

“I find more fun in bad girls,” says Longoria Parker, fighting off a cold with a cocktail of tea and throat lozenges, but still unbelievably glam in a purple Rebecca Taylor dress (designer shoes are long-gone in the name of comfort; today’s fashion accessory is a pink blanket).

“The good girls are always so boring,” she adds wickedly.

The 32-year-old actress has made a good career out of being bad. Before her breakout as sexy and self-centered ex-model Gabrielle Solis on “Housewives,” she sharpened her bitchy bite as a soap opera psychotic on “The Young and the Restless.”

One could call it all prep work for her “Body” part as Kate, even though the Texas-born Latina sees a difference between this role and Gabrielle in “Housewives”: Gaby, she says, is out for herself, while Kate is out to protect her man. The latter quality is something Longoria Parker can relate to, having married San Antonio Spur point guard Tony Parker in July of last year in Paris.

“Oh, I would totally haunt Tony if I passed away,” she says. “I would lie next to him and stare at him!

“It would actually be a lot like what I do now.”

Not like she has much time to sit and stare at anything. Longoria Parker’s star quickly rose in 2004 due to “Housewives”; she squeezed in time on stolen days, weekends and breaks in filming the hit ABC show to work on “Body,” the upcoming raunchy comedy “Lower Learning” with Jason Biggs and Rob Corddry and the animated “Foodfight!,” slated for April.

As if that’s not enough, her production company has multiple projects in the works. Her new Los Angeles restaurant, called Beso, shares its opening night with a premiere party for “Body,” and she dedicates time as spokeswoman for Padres Contra El Cancer, a nonprofit organization helping the families of cancer-stricken Latino children.

“I like routine and I like to work,” she says. “I love juggling everything at once.”

The only thing that’s been able to slow her down is the current writers’ strike, which has put the brakes on the entire industry. Longoria Parker is embracing the time off by spending as much of it as a newlywed at her home in San Antonio, Tex. “I’m being a housewife as opposed to playing a housewife,” she laughs.

She’s a hot housewife, either way. Longoria Parker’s sex appeal has made her a regular on magazines’ hot lists, even gracing the 2006 cover of Maxim’s 100th issue in a bikini. As a publicity stunt, the shot was blown up in the Las Vegas desert… big enough to be viewed by space satellites.

Likewise, her “sex tape” video spoof for Will Ferrell’s funnyordie.com comedy Web site ignited Web browsers around the world. So even as she branches out into different roles and new ventures, Longoria Parker says she’ll take the “hot housewife” compliment as long as possible.

“Being called sexy has never stood in the way. It’s better than the opposite: ‘You’re not on the sexy list,’” she smiles. “I’m going with ’sexy’ as long as possible! Look at Sophia Loren, who is so sexy. I was just with her in Germany; she oozes sexuality! It hasn’t hindered Halle Berry or Charlize Theron from getting more dramatic roles. There’s nothing wrong with carrying that on as long as you can.”

Something else that will continue is Longoria Parker’s stay on Wisteria Lane. Contrary to rumors that she wants to leave “Housewives” to start a family, the actress says she’ll stick around as long as the show is on the air, but probably won’t go back to TV after that. “It’s like hitting a hole in one,” she says. “Why try again?”

Until she moves on, Longoria Parker plans to fill her spare time with movie roles so the transition is seamless once it happens. And if she’s asked to be bad, so be it. In “Foodfight!,” just the sound of her voice brings out the edge in Lady X, a conniving product icon who uses her beauty to take over the world.

“It’s great, because you can be as big as you want,” she says of her upcoming role. “I’m the evil character that’s like, ‘Bruu-ah-ha-haa, I’m going to get you!’ It was so fun because I got to be sooo bad!”

HER ‘DESPERATE’ HOURS

Some say being a housewife is tough. Well, it’s downright nutty if you live on Wisteria Lane. Here are just some of the dramas Eva Longoria Parker’s Gabrielle Solis has had - so far - on the four seasons of “Desperate Housewives.”

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Cheated on husband, Carlos, with teenage gardener, John;
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Got pregnant after Carlos replaced birth control pills with sugar pills;
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Lost baby in a miscarriage when attacked in home by neighbor who was formerly locked in basement down the street;
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Found out a nun had eyes for Carlos. Donated money to Catholic Church to have said nun shipped off to relief mission in Botswana;
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Asked new maid, Xiao-Mei, to serve as surrogate mother, only to discover she was having an affair with Carlos;
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Divorced Carlos and attempted to restart modeling career;
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Discovered she had a stalker, who turned out to be a teenager from down the block. Went on two dates with him;
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Set sights on mayoral candidate Victor, had sex with him in back of a limo. Victor became her second husband;
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Started affair with ex-husband Carlos while now married to Victor;
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Along with Carlos, tried to kill Victor and make it look like a boating accident;
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Discovered Victor survived the “accident” and was returning to kill her;
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Planned to run away with Carlos, but was stopped by a tornado that killed Victor and, unbeknownst to her, left Carlos blind.
Source: Daily News

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