Jennifer Lopez says she was insistent on casting a Latin artist in 'Marry Me'

By Megan Stone

Video by Brittany Berkowitz

Jennifer Lopez said hiring a Latin artist to play her boyfriend in "Marry Me" was a top priority.

The singer, who plays fictional pop superstar Kat Valdez in the film, said no to some of the biggest acts in music when casting Bastian, a role that eventually went to Maluma.

"So many names came up. All the big musicians you can think of right now," the "On the Floor" singer told Apple Music's Zane Lowe. "But not one Latin name came up. And I was like, 'You know what? I really want to make a bilingual album for this for a mainstream Hollywood movie. Why don’t we pick a Spanish artist, a Latin artist. Somebody who just is in Spanish, and let’s talk Spanish in the movie.'"

She went on, "When we were talking about that part, a lot of different names came up. We need somebody who’s a musician, superstar, super swag, could play his character. And all of the nuances that he has could be lovable."

Although the part called for "the perfect, right guy," Lopez said there was a caveat: the person also had to be "the guy who you don’t want to marry, and who could that be?"

Maluma was eventually hired to play Bastian, Kat's boyfriend who cheats on her the day they're supposed to wed.

Lopez added of Maluma, "The two songs that he wrote specifically for the movie, not as a Maluma song, but as a Bastian song, was so impressive to me. Because it showed me that he really understood the character."

"Marry Me," also starring Owen Wilson, Sarah Silverman and "Game of Thrones" star John Bradley, arrives in theaters Feb. 11.