Edgar Ramírez barely recognized himself in recent roles as an Elven government agent and fashion mogul Gianni Versace

Edgar Ramírez spent much of the last year staring at someone else in the mirror.

The Venezuelan actor transformed himself into an elf working as a government agent in David Ayer’s contemporary fantasy thriller “Bright,” which opened in theaters and on Netflx on Friday. He also plays fashion icon Gianni Versace in the Ryan Murphy-produced limited series “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” which premieres on FX in January.

Over the course of his career, the 40-year-old Ramirez has played everything from a Greek god to legendary boxer Roberto Durán, but these two roles required something else entirely.

For “Bright,” which costars Will Smith, Ramirez asked the Italian sartorial house Kiton to craft his character Kandomere’s suits, while makeup artists gave him prosthetic ears, special teeth and a wig that was purposefully stranded together to look intentionally unnatural. Portraying Versace was actually more intense. Ramírez wore not only prosthetics but also a wig cap that made him nervous.

Ramirez recalls, “The first day, I told Ryan, ‘I’m ready to take this off and shave my head and put the wig on my shaved head.’ He said, ‘Edgar, trust me. You don’t need to do it. It looks great already.’ I had a little freaking out moment with the prosthetic, but I think that every actor using it for the first time can relate.”

During our conversation, Ramírez discussed the unique world building his character is a part of in “Bright,” and what he thinks viewers will learn about Versace.

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You shot “Versace” after this? What made you want to do it?

I was very excited about the team, and, of course, I’ve admired Ryan’s work for many years. You never know, but honestly, I knew that journey was going to be interesting. It was going to be something that would inform me with a lot of things.

Most of the public knows of Versace only as a brand. Others might remember him just from photos in fashion magazines and the circumstances of his death. What do you feel viewers will learn about him from your portrayal?

He was, above all, a family guy. In the most Greek way, in the most Roman way, I mean, he was an emperor. But very, very, very, very, very concerned for his family and for his legacy, family wise. This was surprising, because I was around when Versace exploded as a brand. I remember all the revolution in the ’90s, how Gianni mixed sexuality with glamour, something that had never been done before. I mean, the ’70s were run down and sexy, the ’80s were opulent and conservative and then Gianni married the two and everybody went crazy.

And the supermodels too.

Exactly. He created all that culture. I wouldn’t be invited to the first row of any fashion house now if it weren’t for Versace, who created this culture.

I know that Versace’s family was not involved in the project. Did that make you nervous going forward?

Cautious, but not nervous, because in the end, this is an approximation to what the life of this designer could have been like and, of course, our reconstruction or re-creation of the events that led to his assassination. Even when you’re doing characters or based on real people, again, it’s only impersonation. It’s not a photograph. It’s a painting. It’s not exact. If it was my family, of course, I would have reservations. First of all, it’s your life. They were a family that went through one of the most horrible tragedies that was witnessed in the world of celebrity and fashion in the last 50 years. It was horrible what happened. I wouldn’t want anything to do with it. I totally understand that.

So, two roles in a row where your makeup and costume were integral to your character.

No, it’s true. I’ve never thought about it. That it was one or the other where I completely transformed my body. Yeah, but with Versace, it was different, because it was a prosthetic, and the transformation was somehow deeper. To feel a bald cap and to see your head shape change? It was kind of scary at the beginning, because I thought that it might look fake but also because it always takes you some time to get used to see yourself like that. It feels very foreign.

Edgar Ramírez barely recognized himself in recent roles as an Elven government agent and fashion mogul Gianni Versace