The August issue of Latina Magazine hits newsstands TODAY!!!

Marc Anthony dishes about his upcoming movie El Cantante, and playing the role of music legend Hector Lavoe.

On one of his favorite roles -

â??I wanted to show the human side of Hector â?? his struggles, his demons. He was mentally ill. He used to cry because he hated his voice, yet he was famous because of it. All of a sudden drugs were made available. I think he wanted to escape before people figured out he was broken. At the same time, he held such a prominent part in music history.â??

The Puerto Rican icon tells to Latina, â??We did research [to prepare for the role] but when youâ??re raised with something, it seeps into your psyche.â??

Marc Anthony Get Personal About Jen -

Marc also reveals what it was like to co-star with Jennifer Lopez. â??It was an absolute dream. We shared the same car to the set and weâ??d go over scenes together. We had all the time to bond, which a lot of actors donâ??t have.â??

â??We met working 10 years ago. By now, we know each other so well. I know what sheâ??s passionate about. Weâ??re a real team. Everything we do is just a natural extension of that.â??

â??All my actor friends warned us, saying, â??Those abusive husband-and-wife scenes are gonna be difficult.â?? It almost scared me into quitting. With those scenes, weâ??d end up exhausted. But driving home, weâ??d just look at each other and say, â??We are so normal.â??â??

Future movie plansâ?¦

Working with Jen â?? â??I wouldnâ??t do it again just to do it. That would be the vanity approach. But if itâ??s an amazing project, yes, I would love to.â??

â??There are fantastic opportunities that are coming my way. Early on, music took so much of my time that I wasnâ??t able to do all the movies I wanted. My whole life Iâ??ve been a storyteller through music. Being able to do it in film is fascinating to me.â??

Rapid fire -

Describe Jennifer in three words.

â??Extremely, extremely generous.â??

The rumors: Laugh at them or completely ignore them?

â??A bit of both. I donâ??t know how tabloids come up with these crazy stories. It affects me when my kids call me with questions, though.â??

And last, we hear she can really hook it up on the kitchen. Whatâ??s her specialty?

â??Arroz con habichuelas and breaded steak. You have no idea!â??

(Courtesy of Coburn Communications)