00:03Hi this is Mariah Gullow from The Hollywood Reporter and we're in studio
00:07today with Ricky Martin. Hi Ricky. How are you? Good good thank you very much. We're
00:12here to talk about the assassination of Gianni Versace. Can you let me know what
00:17it takes to create a real-life character like the one you play in Gianni Versace?
00:22It was very intense and of course you have a it's a big responsibility but
00:27luckily I had the opportunity to talk to Antonio Amico himself and he was
00:32incredibly generous and I told him I'm I know this was 20 years ago and I know
00:39you've been through a lot but all I want to do is shed some light and into what
00:46you had with Gianni and what you represented in his life so I beg you
00:50please I'm gonna be asking some tough questions but it's all it's all for the
00:55good of the story and I'm gonna leave my soul in front of the camera every day
01:01I promise you will be proud of this and because it was a very important story to
01:07tell I mean at the end of the day if you see everything that was going around his
01:12life was full of injustice at this point of my life I need to to tell stories that
01:19make a difference and and so going back to Antonio he was very helpful he was he
01:24was very generous like I said he would tell me everything that he was feeling
01:28that he went through when it was happen when it happened and and afterwards so
01:32that's why it was so powerful for me to start the story and be able to close it
01:38with him trying to kill himself it was it was incredibly powerful very intense they
01:47were I I I don't know what I'm what a what a what an easy scene is yes project yes
01:56you
01:56had no easy but then again I always felt protected I was you know obviously working
02:02with Ryan incredible directors great writers and of course an incredible group of
02:08actors that were there with me at all times so all I wanted was to like I said talk on
02:15behalf that are not being heard unfortunately nowadays we still deal
02:19with homophobia and I think it's not it's not how he died it's why we allowed
02:25it to happen I mean unfortunately this man went on the killing spree Andrew
02:30Cunanan and and this guy wasn't in the list of the FBI most wanted and he was
02:38living in Miami Beach he was not hiding and he found Jenny so I said let's let's do
02:44this and let's do it right yes one of the things I noticed was the parallels
02:49between two of your scenes one that happens in the beginning and one that
02:53happens at the end in the beginning you're cradling Versace as he's dying yes
02:59and in the end you were being cradled by a maid when she finds you overdosing
03:05I didn't think about it until you tell me that wasn't intentional it wasn't
03:09intentional actually when obviously we were in the villa right in Miami Beach when
03:14I did this and when I run out I asked Ryan please Ryan let me hold him I have
03:20to hold him I don't know if this is what really happened in real life but I need
03:24to hold him I need to feel him and and Ryan said please do it go ahead and all of
03:29a
03:29sudden it became something very beautiful and very powerful because it became like
03:32la pieta and and and then I talked to Antonio he said Ricky no that's not what
03:39happened because you saw paparazzi shots of the moment that's not what happened I
03:43never hold him I was not allowed to hold him and I said Antonio we're not doing a
03:50photo of this we're doing a painting this is a canvas we're adding colors we're
03:54getting rid of colors and there is you know poetic license at the same time with
03:59all this and and and it was my choice as an actor I said I'm sorry if you don't
04:04feel comfortable with that image but it's something that I really needed it was
04:08it was it was it was it was something very powerful and then I was I was
04:12supported even Edgar Ramirez who played Gianna Versace said go ahead if this is
04:16what you need to do go ahead and and then of course Ryan said it was okay so I
04:21just went for it completely it was it was something that I needed to do yes well
04:25there's there's a lot of parallels between Greek tragedies and Versace's
04:30life I mean just his his aesthetic was so much about classic you know classic
04:37beauty class classical art and then you know you have this story that is truly a
04:42tragedy for both both of these men it's incredibly not for many years I'm gonna
04:50share with you the first time I was able to do a television series I was 15 years
04:55old I was living in Argentina and that's how acting came to my life and I said
05:00this is what I need and then I went to Mexico and I did more theater and more
05:04television series and then I obviously I went to Broadway and I was always seduced
05:09by acting and people would ask me Ricky when are you going back to acting things
05:15with music was it was amazing I was surfing that wave and things were very
05:20powerful I was enjoying every minute of it and I still do music will always be
05:24there but they would ask me what are you gonna do what are you going back to
05:29music and I said I will go back to music when I'm surrounded by the right cast
05:33but great directors great producers when and when I have the opportunity to to
05:38tell the right story you gotta be careful with what you wish for it because that's
05:42exactly what happened and yes that the art of Jenny Versace the the taste the some
05:48some people call it flamboyant some people come he was just very specific and and working with Ryan
05:54and it was incredibly beautiful because you know exactly what needed to be
05:58presented to the audience in order for it to be credible and real and and honest and
06:03raw did you know much about Versace before you took on the role you know I
06:07lived in Miami when this happened obviously who didn't know Versace right sure but I
06:12lived in Miami and I felt as a victim as well because I was afraid of leaving my
06:16house because because there was a crazy man killing gay men in the streets and I
06:24thought I knew a lot but of course I didn't until I started doing the
06:27research and then I had the opportunity to to talk to Antonio but we were very
06:33very loyal to to the truth and that is something that makes me proud of this
06:38production I know we've spoken about how how the the criminal side of it was
06:46handled and mishandled of course but if there's a teachable moment in Versace's
06:50life what do you think it would be what can he teach us him being brave enough to
06:58come out of the closet and to introduce his partner and make it public I tell you
07:03this in my heart speed up because I I went through the same thing as a man I said as
07:09a
07:09closet a gay man and and playing this part I was standing on the other side of the
07:15fence being do you know how many how many lovers I had that I that I hid from the
07:22public that I did not allow anyone to see because I was afraid because everybody
07:26told me you know what if you said you're gay everything is it's just the end
07:30January says she went through the same thing as well and and for me that was a
07:36lesson you have to be strong you have to be brave and you have to be yourself and
07:40you have to be proud of who you are and not be afraid that was my lesson yeah you
07:46know one of the more heartbreaking things about about the series is watching how your
07:52character is treated by the rest of the family what was it like to play opposite
07:58Penelope Cruz as your main adversary I love Penelope yeah you are your friends
08:03right she's a goddess yes we've had the opportunity to work for many years on the
08:08philanthropic world we worked in India in an orphanage and and that's how I met
08:14Penelope I was I was very excited the moment she said Ricky I'm supposed to hate
08:21you and I can't and I can't we're doing something right that's a good thing but
08:28she's incredibly generous as an actress and and she was there with the right
08:31advice always and and I wouldn't change it for the world for me to have such a
08:38such an important role and to be with her and with Edgar was very special she was
08:46trying to be kind and she was but when she needed to be tough in the scenes she
08:50was she was very firm and loyal about the story but she was also friends with
08:56Donatella so it was it was a very very very difficult because she was kind of
09:02able to get the inside drama from Donatella exactly knowing of Donatella of
09:07course and so for me I mean it was a blessing to be to be working with all
09:12these people like I said it was Edgar Romita said it once Edgar said you know
09:16what Ricky we must have done something really good in life to to to be in this
09:21position today to walk on stage every day to spend 12 hours in front of the
09:26camera and and to look forward for what's coming next day it was very very
09:30beautiful lovely well I have a few questions for you before we wrap up these
09:36are a bit separate from from what we've been talking about the first moment in
09:42your career where you've said I've arrived oh well okay so I started when I was 12
09:49years old I became part of a music band of a boy band and the first time I walked
09:57on stage was in San Juan Puerto Rico and I I walked on stage and I did
10:04everything I was not supposed to do they told me you have to stand here and do not
10:09move because the light is where it's supposed to be but I was so excited I
10:12started moving from one place to the other and and then right after the show the
10:16manager told me everything that I wanted to hear and then some everything that I
10:21wasn't I did not want it to hear I'm sorry and then some so I learned I said
10:25okay this is a new world and and what I loved about my new that it was an
10:29incredible lesson it taught me discipline obviously it taught me about music it
10:36taught me about drama about acting but but July 10 1984
10:42it's pretty impressive I made it moment be when you were 12
10:48well for me that was one moment that I will never forget yeah and of course I've
10:51been lucky enough I've been working like crazy since I was 12 years old and and
10:56and I know that I have so many beautiful moments to be able to go around the world
11:02and and bring your culture around the world and for people to get to
11:06understand a little bit more of what you're made of and who you are it's
11:10something this is what music bought me yeah so it's like a present and then
11:15obviously the Grammys the Grammys to be able to perform the Cup of Life you know
11:20there was like a before and after that moment number one that was my first
11:25Grammy I was bringing Latin music into into mainstream America so that was of
11:32course it was a very beautiful page but you know what I'm I'm still working I'm
11:36still writing pages and I hope there's a lot more to come hopefully yeah
11:42I hope next question best celebrity impression you can do is there anybody
11:48you can impersonate horrible no I don't think I can go there no I swear I wish the
11:55last piece of great advice you've gotten I'm surrounded by great friends and I'm
12:01surrounded by beautiful people that are constantly sharing knowledge I cannot
12:07name a specific one but I don't like love in my life so it sounds like you're good at taking
12:16in
12:17advice of course the moment you think you know it all that's it that's that's when you're it's it's all
12:22downhill from there you have to you have to be sure of yourself but you have to be humble
12:29um last question the worst mishap on stage tell me again what does that mean the worst mistake that
12:38was made on stage if did anything happen on stage that you know like falling off the stage or oh
12:45well
12:45well you know what you know that happens that happens in your beginning of your career it could
12:50happen 20 years later you know you just kind of you know it's not how you fall it's how you
12:55stand up
12:55it's how you get up from it uh or when you're in the middle of you know you're doing a
13:01very
13:01dramatic scene in theater which you know it's live and you have a very tough audience in front of you
13:06every night and all of a sudden everything goes black you forget the lines you forget everything that
13:13also happens hopefully you will have a very professional partner next to you as an actor that will
13:19remind you or will improvise i've been on both sides of the end yeah but that's entertaining you just
13:27have to be open to to trip and stand up again very well put i think ricky martin thank you
13:35so much for
13:35for being here thank you
Comments