LOS ANGELES – Ricky Martin, one of the biggest pop stars of the late 1990s and early 2000s, is making a comeback after years away from the spotlight – but as an actor, rather than a musician.

The Puerto Rican singer stars in Palm Royale, a comedy-drama series starring Kristen Wiig as a woman desperate to be accepted at a high-society club in 1960s Florida. It is available on Apple TV+. 

Martin, 52, plays Robert, the bartender she squares off with, who also acts as caretaker to the club’s queen bee, played by American comedy legend Carol Burnett.

His last major English-speaking acting role was in The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018), a drama about the 1997 murder of the eponymous Italian fashion designer.

Martin’s role as Versace’s boyfriend, the late Italian model and designer Antonio D’Amico, earned him a supporting actor Emmy nomination.

And even though he made his name with music, acting has always been a passion, says Martin at a Los Angeles press event for Palm Royale earlier in 2024.

His first role was in a Mexican soap opera in 1991.

“There was something about being in front of the camera and telling a story without music that really seduced me,” says Martin, who in 1999 became an international star and sex symbol with his English-language chart-topper Livin’ La Vida Loca.

But then “music did its thing, and I just had to hop on the wave and surf”, says the star. He was a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo from 1984 to 1989, and had a successful career as a Spanish-language solo artiste before Livin’ La Vida Loca.

Acting opportunities did pop up again, though.

Martin did a stint on the long-running American daytime soap opera General Hospital from 1994 to 1996 and became one of its most popular cast members.

And from 2012 to 2013, he played the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara in the hit Broadway revival of the musical Evita.

Whether he is acting or singing, it is about stepping into a role and spinning a yarn, says Martin, who has four children aged four to 15, the two youngest shared with ex-husband Jwan Yosef, 39, a Swedish painter.

“At the end of the day, it’s about telling stories, owning the character and believing every word that you say.

“Music will always be there, it’s something that I will be forever grateful for,” he adds.

“But when I walk on stage telling my stories, it’s about owning the script – which is a song, at the end of the day – without wearing a mask.”

For him, acting is about being honest.

“This is how I feel every time I’m on set. It’s about being real and also having a bit of fear,” Martin says.

“I’m in love with this work, and I hope this is only the beginning.”

When pressed, he says he is still working on new music, but quickly turns the subject back to acting.

His last and 10th studio album was the 2015 Spanish release A Quien Quiera Escuchar (To Whoever Wants To Listen) and most recent EP, 2022’s Play.

“The immediate reaction of the audience when I’m doing music is something addictive, and something that I’ve been doing since I was 12 years old.

“But there is something about being in front of the camera as an actor that really fulfils me incredibly.

“I feel so much passion towards it. Let’s see what happens,” he says.

In Palm Royale, Martin had the rare opportunity to flex his comedy chops with several veterans of the genre.

One of them was 90-year-old Burnett, who is best known for the musical comedy film Annie (1982) and The Carol Burnett Show (1967 to 1978), an Emmy-winning sketch comedy series.

Asked if he had known he could be funny on-screen, Martin says: “Yes, but then again, it’s so contagious.

“I just feed off what they give me, and then I just press ‘play’.”

But he did learn a lot from Burnett and “the energy she brought on set every day”.

The two bonded off camera as well. “It was very good. I gave her a lot of hand massages,” he says with a smile.

“I will always be grateful just to have had the opportunity to be with her on set. It was very beautiful.”

• Palm Royale is available on Apple TV+.