VENICE — Global music icon and acclaimed actor Ricky Martin made a striking and unexpected appearance at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, stepping onto the international cinematic stage as part of the cast of Hombre al Agua. Directed by fellow Latin American creative powerhouse Gael García Bernal, the film is currently screening out of competition at the prestigious Mostra, which runs from September 2nd through September 12th.
At 54 years old, the Puerto Rican multi-hyphenate sat down for an extensive interview with EFE on the sunlit Lido during the festival’s bustling opening days. Speaking with the candid introspection that has come to define his decades-long career, Martin opened up about his enduring relationship with the creative arts. Rather than viewing music, acting, and writing as separate disciplines, he described storytelling as his ultimate refuge—the singular space where he feels most authentically himself, regardless of the medium through which he is communicating.
Hombre al Agua has quickly become one of the most talked-about projects screening on the sidelines of the main competition, sharing festival buzz with high-profile Spanish-language entries like Bunker, which stars heavyweights Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. The narrative framework of Bernal’s film is wonderfully complex: it follows the turbulent trajectory of a Cuban lifeguard whose life is upended after he rescues a wealthy Mexican businessman. Following the rescue, the lifeguard goes to work for the magnate and eventually marries his daughter, only to slowly realize that his seemingly charmed new reality is built on shifting sands and hidden deceptions.
García Bernal himself stars as the lifeguard, while Martin steps into a delightfully meta supporting role as an actor. In the film-within-a-film concept, Martin’s character is hired by the protagonist’s wife to portray her husband in a biographical production. This layered narrative structure, which plays playfully with the very nature of performance, identity, and representation, proved an irresistible draw for an artist of Martin’s caliber, who has spent a lifetime mastering the art of duality on stage and screen.
The Role That Only Took One Day to Film
Despite the intense gravity and complex themes running through Hombre al Agua, Martin’s actual time on set was remarkably brief. His scenes were completed in a single day of filming—a logistical detail he shared with an infectious enthusiasm. Far from diminishing his connection to the project, the brevity of the shoot made the experience exhilarating.
Martin praised the atmosphere cultivated by García Bernal in the director’s chair, noting that working with a fellow actor at the helm fundamentally transformed the dynamic of the set. He credited García Bernal with fostering an environment of creative freedom, giving actors the space to play, experiment, and genuinely contribute to the scene while maintaining the tight organizational structure necessary to keep a film production moving forward. When initially approached about the role, Martin noted that there was never any real deliberation required; it was simply a project he would never have considered turning down.
Reflecting on the finished picture, Martin shared that the film continues to reveal new dimensions and textures to him with every subsequent viewing. This layered complexity, he suggested, is what separates exceptional cinema from simpler, more disposable productions, rewarding audiences who pay close attention. For a performer who has spent more than thirty years navigating the notoriously demanding worlds of pop music, television, and feature films across multiple languages, markets, and cultural landscapes, the ability to instantly recognize that kind of artistic integrity—and to say yes without hesitation—is a skill honed by experience and maintained by choice.
Storytelling as the Thread That Runs Through Everything
To truly understand Martin’s ongoing evolution as an artist, one must examine his framing of storytelling as his primary sanctuary. During his conversation with EFE, he emphasized that vulnerability is the foundational key required to convince an audience of any narrative truth, whether witnessed firsthand or imagined. His ultimate goal, he explained, is not merely to entertain, but to initiate a genuine, emotional conversation through that shared vulnerability.
For millions around the globe, Martin remains the creative force behind generation-defining pop anthems such as "María," "La Copa de la Vida," and "Livin’ la Vida Loca." However, over the past decade, his career choices have consistently signaled a deep, deliberate desire to expand his artistic footprint far beyond the boundaries of pop stardom. His presence at the Venice Film Festival alongside García Bernal serves as yet another compelling data point in that ongoing artistic journey.
Martin articulated a continuous hunger to seek out compelling stories, to help create them, and to adopt the narratives of others as his own. He views music, film, theater, and literature not as isolated silos, but as equally valid, interchangeable containers for the exact same human impulse. Whether he is publishing books, commanding theater stages, or taking on intriguing film roles, all of these creative outlets feed the same internal drive. He speaks about this continuity with a comfortable ease, making it clear that he stopped needing to justify the diverse range of his professional interests a very long time ago.
On Parenthood and Staying Open
Perhaps one of the most profound and grounding reflections to emerge from Martin’s interview with EFE was his meditation on fatherhood and how raising children has continuously reshaped his worldview. He candidly noted that the choices he makes today are fundamentally different from the decisions he would have made a decade ago, attributing this shift to the daily recalibration demanded by parenthood.
According to Martin, his children regularly challenge his personal assumptions and present him with entirely fresh perspectives and stories that he could never have anticipated. Rather than clinging to rigid adult certainty, he chooses to embrace those challenges wholeheartedly. He observed that artists are uniquely susceptible to becoming rigid in their thinking, making the conscious effort to remain open both a creative necessity and a vital personal discipline.
The 83rd Venice Film Festival—renowned for hosting some of the most daring, anticipated, and critically acclaimed films of the cinematic year—provided an ideal backdrop for Martin to articulate this philosophy. His willingness to carve out time from a busy global schedule to spend a single day filming a supporting role simply because a creative invitation felt artistically true is a living expression of that very openness. As the conversation surrounding his film appearance continues to grow, it offers further proof that Martin’s instinctual compass for meaningful artistic collaboration remains as sharp as ever.
