EXCLUSIVE: Ricky Martin has been revealed as cast member and executive producer for Gael García Bernal’s new film Hombre al Agua ahead of its world premiere and North American debut at the Venice and Toronto film festivals next month.

‘Livin’ la Vida Loca’ music artist Martin boarded the project on the eve of the film’s shoot in Mérida, capital of Mexico’s Yucatán, but his presence on the project has only been revealed now.

Billed as a comedy-drama with surreal undertones, Hombre al Agua marks Amore Perros and Mozart in the Jungle actor Bernal’s third feature in the director’s seat, with the Mexican star also taking co-writing and producing credits.

Bernal stars as Camilo, a Cuban lifeguard, whose life takes an unexpected turn when he rescues Abel, a powerful Mexican businessman with political ambitions, from drowning in the Caribbean Sea.

Abel offers Camilo a job as his right-hand man back in Mexico, where the lifeguard goes on to cement his position by marrying the businessman’s daughter. Camilo thinks he has hit the jackpot, but it steadily becomes apparent that the new dream life is not what it seems.

A first trailer and image released by the film’s Paris-based sales company The Pool Films reveals Martin as a character called Roby, who is hired to play Camilo in a biographical film being spearheaded by his wife.

Martin joins a high-profile Latin American cast also featuring Esmeralda Pimentel (Almost Paradise), Débora Nascimento (Lady Voyeur), Natalia Oreiro (Muñeca brava), Anna Díaz (Totally Killer) and Manuel García Rulfo (Jurassic World Rebirth, The Lincoln Lawyer) and Jorge Salinas (Amores Perros).

“Ricky was one of those wonderful accidents. He was the first person I imagined for the role, but it seemed like such a crazy, almost impossible idea that I kept his name to myself for most of the development process,” said Bernal.

“The part only required one day of shooting, so we kept saying, “We’ll find someone.” Then, shortly before we started shooting, I managed to get his number and called him. Before I had even really explained the project, he said, ‘Whatever you want’.”

“Ricky came in with an enormous generosity, completely embraced the spirit of the film, understood the humor of the character, and became one of the film’s strongest supporters. His involvement as an executive producer grew very naturally out of that enthusiasm.”

The Hombre al Agua role marks the first fully Spanish-language, on-screen role in more than two decades for Martin, who broke out as an actor in Mexican musical Mama ama el Rock and telenovela Reaching for a Star II in the 1990s, before focusing on his solo music career.

Most recently he has been seen in Apple TV+’s Primetime Emmy winning show Palm Royale, in the role of Robert Diaz, a bartender navigating a double life against the backdrop of Palm Beach high society.

“As an actor and executive producer, having the opportunity to work alongside Gael García Bernal, one of the most talented actors, writers and directors of his generation, is always an honor. I’m here to give my best in a small role, but with Gael, everything reaches another level. I’m incredibly proud to be part of Hombre al agua and of this journey,” said Martin.

Bernal is producing with longtime friend and collaborator Diego Luna under their joint La Corriente del Golfo alongside Fernanda de la Peza and Stacy Perskie.

Hombre al Agua will world premiere in Venice’s Spotlight section ahead of playing in Toronto as a special presentation. Bernal’s previous films Déficit and Chicuarotes premiered in Cannes Critics’ Week and as a Special Screening in Cannes Official Selection in 2007 and 2019 respectively.

Scheduled for release in Mexican cinemas on September 24, Hombre al Agua is among 17 titles in the running to represent Mexico at the 99th Academy Awards, alongside films including Diego Luna’s Ashes and Fernando Eimbcke’s Flies.  

Co-written with Mariano Pensotti, Hombre al Agua takes it cue from Bernal’s own experiences after he became a father.

“I began to realize how, at a certain age, fatherhood changes your relationship with time, with your partner, and also with your friends. Suddenly, between work and family, every moment of your day is spoken for, and almost without noticing it, a certain kind of loneliness begins to set in,” he explains.

“I wondered what the most extreme version of that feeling might look like, and who might inhabit it. That is how Camilo appeared: a Cuban living far from an island he feels is falling apart, just as his own family life is beginning to unravel.

Hombre al agua could simply be a comedy about a separation. But that separation opened the door to many other things I was interested in exploring, such as masculinity, class, immigration, politics, friendship, or belonging.”

The production has also unveiled the first poster.