Marc Anthony, J.Lo beat the odds

When Marc Anthony agreed to star opposite Jennifer Lopez in “El Cantante,” the famous singers were just friends who had once dated. But by the time the film went into production, Anthony and Lopez were married.

And that, according to generally accepted Hollywood wisdom, is not a good idea.

“I got every warning from every famous actor I know: ‘Don’t work with your wife. It’s tough. The material’s tough,’” Anthony told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer during a break in a concert of songs from the movie he gave Friday on the plaza at Rockefeller Center.

“But it was the total opposite,” he said. “After doing those heavy scenes — these two amazingly dysfunctional characters — we’d go home and say, ‘God, we’re normal, honey.’”

The film is a biopic about Puerto Rican salsa pioneer Hector Lavoe, who defined a generation of Latinos with his music. But Lavoe, whose stage name was taken from the French for “the voice,” was as tortured as he was talented. He fought drug addiction, and his marriage to Lopez’s character, “Puchi,” had to survive his own infidelities.

“He had such a strong image,” Anthony said of Lavoe. “I concentrated just on making him as human as possible. I didn’t want to mimic or imitate him; I just wanted to capture the man.”

‘Sound track to my life’
The 38-year-old Anthony grew up in New York listening to American pop music as well as the island’s distinctive Latin rhythms. Lavoe was part of that tapestry, but it wasn’t until Anthony was preparing for his role that realized just how important Lavoe had been.

“I grew up with Marvin Gaye and Elton John, as well,” he told Lauer. “But Hector Lavoe was one of those figures that I realized, even when I was doing research for the movie, how his music was a sound track to my life. It was ever-present, it transcended all generations, and it’s just culturally significant.”

“El Cantante,” which is Spanish for “the singer,” debuts on Aug. 3 and is the first film out of Lopez’s production company, Nuyorican Productions. In a Thursday appearance on TODAY, Lopez said that she thought it was appropriate that her first film deal with the heritage that helped make her one of the most influential entertainers in America.

Slide show Making of a superstar From Fly Girl to international celebrity, Jennifer Lopez's rise to fame -- and her search for love -- has made her a global phenomenon.

She had received the script for the movie more than five years ago, about the time she formed her company, and, she said, “I just thought to myself Marc Anthony was the perfect person to play this role.”

She and Anthony met through their work in music videos more than 10 years ago. He went on to marry Dayanara Torres, a former Miss Universe, and have two children. That marriage ended in October 2003. Lopez, meanwhile, had had two brief marriages, a very public affair with Sean Combs, and a near-marriage to Ben Affleck.

In June of 2004, he and Lopez married in a private ceremony at her home.

Anthony has appeared in numerous films over the last 10 years, but his role in “El Cantante” is the biggest yet. He credits Lopez with helping him making the leap to leading man, and he plans to reciprocate. She's recorded numerous albums but has never toured before. When she does, later this fall, Anthony will be at his wife’s side.

“I’m doing the movie thing now, and she’s walking me through this,” said Anthony. “Now it’s my turn to return the favor. We’re going out Sept. 29, Jennifer’s first tour, and we’re really excited about it.”

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