Versace is a big entrée into Hollywood. You’ve been acting your whole life, but this is a big deal. What made you want to take on this role?
"A lot of people say, ‘Oh, Ricky, you can act?’ But you know, when I left Menudo I was totally focused on my acting. I spent many years preparing for acting roles. I went to Mexico and started doing theater, then TV series in Mexico and Argentina. So for me acting has always been very important. Here I was in L.A. and I received a phone call from the one and only Ryan Murphy—I’ve had the opportunity to work with him in the past as a guest on Glee—and he said, ‘Rick, I’m working on this. Are you interested?’ And I joked, ‘Let me think about it.’ Of course I was being sarcastic. I was honored. So I started doing the research and learning everything about Gianni’s story and his legacy. To be able to work with Edgar Ramirez, Penelope Cruz and Darren Criss, I mean, are you kidding me? We’re treating this story with a lot of respect and really serious about it. I’m so happy with the results. It’s very dramatic and powerful, but you will also see a lot of love. The love between Antonio and Gianni was a very beautiful one."
You spoke with Antonio recently?
"I had the opportunity to speak to Antonio a few months ago, and I said, ‘Antonio, listen, maybe you’ve seen a couple of paparazzi shots of the actual scenes that we’re shooting, but please don’t judge the quality of it just by one picture because it could easily be taken out of context. You have to see what we’re doing, and you’re going to be so pleased with everything.’"
What was it like coming back to film in Miami?
"It’s amazing. I lived in Miami for almost 15 years. For some reason I had never gone inside the Versace Mansion. But now that we were there, I understood why. Because I guess the purity of me walking in for the first time, working on this character, was of impact. The house is beautiful. They keep it as a boutique hotel, but they work very hard to maintain it as Gianni had lived there, and to be honest, I felt Gianni’s presence everywhere. I’m not trying to be spooky here, but his art and his taste is everywhere in the house. It helped us a lot."
Ultimately it was your career that took you out of Miami.
"I moved to NYC because I was offered my role in [Broadway’s] Evita. It was at a time when my kids were starting school. After a couple of years, I got an opportunity to do a show in Australia, so I moved there. It’s one of those situations where you make plans and then someone up there—God—will tell you, ‘You make plans, but I will take care of the rest.’ We lived in Australia on and off for three years. Then, [after being] on the road for 2.5 years, finally I thought it was time for me to land somewhere. That was right when I started dating [my fiancé] Jwan. And I said, ‘We’re going to live together, where do you want to do this? Ever been to L.A.?’ [I was] also thinking of the possibility of me working as an actor. So we rented a house in L.A. He loved it and I always loved L.A., so we decided to make this our home. But Miami will always be there. I still have property there, and I go back four to five times a year."
What’s it like at home—being a dad, with your kids.
"My life is very simple. My kids are homeschooled. I’m obsessed with our home and I don’t want to leave our house. It’s a very beautiful home, and we have an amazing life. We’re so busy. When I’m not here, I go to do shows around the world. We are still moving around but always heading back home. This is good for me and good for my family. And that’s what really matters at the end of the day. My kids are amazing; they love martial arts. What is normal? A lot of people say, ‘Hey, Rick, your kids need stability.’ And I [tell them], ‘I am their stability.’ If I’m not around, they feel weird and unstable. And when we schedule them two weeks in the same place, they say, ‘Dad, okay, where are we going? Let’s go, let’s get moving.’ They were born on the road, and this is our reality and we have the life of a circus family. We move from one place to another, and that’s how we roll. Everyone says, ‘Kids need to hang out with others kids,’ and I’m like, ‘We have other kids!’ This is the United Nations in this house. We see friends in different parts of the world every time we go somewhere. I wish I had my kids’ life!"
Read the full interview at Ocean Drive.
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