In this month's PEOPLE cover story for
its Pride issue, Ricky Martin said that he is “disappointed” by
his lack of acting offers.
Martin, who came out gay in 2010,
received an Emmy nomination for his role in Ryan Murphy's 2018 drama
The Assassination of Gianni Versace. He also appeared on
Murphy's musical comedy television series Glee, where he
played a Spanish teacher. On Broadway, he starred in Les
Miserables and Evita. And for two years in the mid-90s,
Martin played bartender Miguel Morez on the ABC soap opera General
Hospital.
"I love acting," Martin
said. "I'm waiting for those scripts, for those great
scripts. I can play gay, I can play straight, I can play a serial
killer. I can play Latin, but I can also play European. I am ready.
Just give it to me, man. Give it to me."
"I just want to tap into anything
that has to do with acting. I love theater, too.”
“I want to tell a story. That's what
I want. I want to tell important stories, and I want to change the
way people see life in general towards some more optimistic way."
“I don't know if I'm not getting
parts because I'm gay. But if that's the case, it's really sad,”
Martin said. “I'm going to keep working until life is different.”
(Related: Ricky
Martin says Barbara Walters' question about his sexuality left him
feeling “violated.”)
Martin, who is raising four children
with his husband, also said that he was once told by a music label
executive that being out had hurt his music career.
"That was something that really
affected me,” Martin said. “And I was like, 'Am I really dealing
with this? They're not playing my music in this country because I'm
gay? Is this really happening?' We're talking about four years ago.
This executive doesn't work for the record company anymore. He was
fired. But I felt it. It hit me hard."