Edgar Ramirez romanced Jennifer Lawrence in Joy and spooked Emily Blunt in The Girl on the Train, but the 40-year-old’s best stories are his own. He grew up all over Venezuela, where his father worked as a military attaché. Ramirez speaks five languages, curses in German, and studied to be a journalist before taking a sharp turn toward acting at 25. He stormed Cannes in 2010 with Carlos, a career-defining, six-hour miniseries in which Ramirez played Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal, from his days as a young playboy admiring his own junk in a hotel-room mirror to his eventual capture to some 20 years later. This month, in the second season of FX’s American Crime Story, Ramirez becomes another iconic rebel, the titular legendary fashion designer in The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which opens with Versace’s murder on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion. (Penélope Cruz stars as Donatella Versace; Ricky Martin appears as the designer’s longtime partner, Antonio D’Amico.) While Versace famously lived his life openly, Ramirez, who has been linked to former costars Jessica Chastain and Ana de Armas, prefers an existence laid less bare. Here, the international man of mystery—he splits his time between New York, L.A., and Caracas—explains why.

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ELLE: What surprised you about Versace?

ER: He was a family man. He would wake up very early and go to bed rather late. People fantasize about his life because of the lushness of his clothes and the atmosphere and the mystique around his brand. His parties were legendary. It was necessary for him to be surrounded by that diversity of people—rich people, affluent people, people from the street. … He would get his inspiration from that. And everyone went crazy for the mix.

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ELLE: You filmed in the house where Versace was assassinated. Could you feel his presence?

ER: I come from Latin America. I’m a magical realist. We feel very comfortable with the unknown. I would say there was a very strong energy. Ricky, Ryan [Murphy], Penélope, and I—we discussed that maybe we never really go completely away. That house was built for creativity. We turned it into a mini studio. Gianni might have felt very happy that the house became again what it was always meant to be: a beacon of creativity.

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ELLE: Last one: How did Versace’s robes feel?

ER: You saw the pink one? That made me feel sexy. My chest is bare; I had to put on almost 20 pounds, and I was very proud of my paunchy stomach. It made me feel like an emperor. Everyone should feel like an emperor once in their life.

Strong Spirit