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"We were able to accomplish a story everyone could relate to. It doesn't matter where you're from, or who you are, everyone who watches it can find something they can relate to."
Everything has a story, including Flamin' Hot Cheetos. In fact, the story behind the person who claims to have invented the flavor, Richard Montañez, was so good it warranted a film. "We worked very hard to make sure that it was entertaining as well as telling Richard's story," says Jesse Garcia, who plays Montañez in the new Eva Longoria-directed film Flamin' Hot (June 9). "When I first got the script, I knew the part was mine." That's because Garcia connected to Montañez's story on a personal level. "He's Mexican American, he came from not much money, which I didn't either....It's the same story a lot of us have." On the surface, the story is about the addictive spicy flavor. "It's like Mexican food. You get just the right amount of heat where people can't stop eating." But at its core it's a "universal" story. "It doesn't matter where you're from, or who you are, everyone can find something they can relate to." And Garcia feels there needs to be more stories like this told. "We just need more opportunities. There's still a battle, but I'm enjoying the ride."
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I was surprised by how joyous the film was.
Yeah, it's a lot of fun. We worked very hard to make sure that it was entertaining as well as telling Richard's story.
What was it about Richard's story that appealed to you?
When I first got the script, I knew the part was mine. So many of my friends who read for the same part, they would all text me or call me and go, "Dude, I just read for this project. But I think this is yours." I can't tell you how many friends of mine contacted me. I sent a tape and four or five auditions later, I got it.
After learning more about Richard, was there something about him and his story that stood out to you?
I mean, the obvious, he's Mexican American, he came from not much money, which I didn't either. My parents and my family did what they had to do to survive. My mom would work as a housekeeper in hotels, and whatever else she had to do, and my dad did construction, and he put himself through school for auto body work and mechanic stuff. So we did all kinds of stuff. And in the movie—I'm not giving anything away—Richard would go to school selling burritos. And I can't tell you the amount of times that my parents would prep food, empanadas, or burritos or something, and my dad would take it to school the next day or to work and he would make a little profit to pay for bills. These are very core memories of my childhood, helping out a little bit or at least seeing them do some work. And they come back and go, "we made a couple hundred bucks today" or something like that. It's the same story a lot of us have. And that's my story as well.
Even though Richard's version of the story has been contested, his energy and positivity almost make you not care about the facts, you know?
He's very funny. He's a quirky dude. Very charming. Well spoken. He loves language. He loves words. It was a real privilege and also very daunting to play someone who's still alive. He would come to set and let me do my thing. One day there was a scene that Annie [Gonzalez, who plays Richard's wife, Judy] and I were doing in a car, and we're kind of like bickering and he gets arrested and it's a big pivotal moment within his life and her life and the family's life. And they call "cut" and Richard and Judy, they were crying in video village and then we go to set and we're all teary-eyed with everybody else, and Richard comes up to me, he goes, "I wasn't sure before but now I get it." You know what I mean? So it was a really cool thing to get his approval. I understand it's very vulnerable and very daunting to have your life put out there for millions of people to see. Whether there's judgment of whatever he allegedly hasn't done and then just to go back into his personal life growing up and struggling and doing what they had to do to make ends meet, it's a lot. When he saw what we were doing and Judy saw what we were doing, they go, "we get it, we get what you're doing, we feel safe."
That's just it, he is a colorful character, and just like any colorful character, of course they're going to embellish a story and make it more entertaining.
And the cool thing about it is he's telling the truth. He'll talk about this way better than I could, and I won't even get into it, but he's got a paper trail. He was in the room and we got the powers that be stamps of approval. No matter what anybody does or whatever story anybody tells it, there's always going to be someone that wants to tear it down, or there's some force or whatever it is, but at the end of the day, it's a beautiful story, like you said, and I think it impacts people in a way that we haven't seen in a while.
And at the end of the day, I want to hear Richard's story.
Yeah, and it's cool because it's from his perspective. So it's not a heavy melodramatic biopic about this guy who came from nothing and became a creator. There's a lot of humor in it. There's a lot of fantasy and so it's from his perspective, it comes from his mind. And so that's it. When I first saw [the film]—which I hate watching my movies—I was like, "oh sh**, this is really good."
Also, working with Eva Longoria was pretty great?
We never worked together before. We've known of each other and been friendly at events and stuff for 15, 16, 17 years. But we never became friends until we shot the movie. We're working on another movie right now together. She's awesome. From directing TV for like 10, 12 years to coming in to this feature. This movie is a story of underdogs, not just with Richard, his family, [but] with Eva Longoria who everyone knows from Desperate Housewives. And then there's me and Annie, who have been working forever, but nobody really knows. Or they're like, they look familiar. And then to [producer] DeVon Franklin. We had a lot to prove, there's a lot to lose and it was a lot to prove. So I think all around, their American dream story is also ours.
That's kind of what I love about the film, it's approachable.
It's really good. It's good storytelling. It's a universal story. It is about Richard's family who's Mexican American, but I think what Eva and the team and all of us did, we were able to accomplish a story that was also very universal, where everyone could relate to it. It doesn't matter where you're from, or who you are, everyone who watches it can find something that [they] can relate to.
It's rare for new food to come along and explode, particularly one that's so popular with a niche market. What do you think it is about the Flamin' Hot Cheetos that made it a hit?
Number one, flavor. It's funny, because if you're eating chips and salsa and it's hot enough, you keep eating it so that the heat doesn't overwhelm you. But I think there's something about the texture and the heat and the flavor and the other ways people love to eat hot Cheetos. You go to school lunches and people put nacho cheese in there with jalapeños and you eat with chopsticks, and that would be some people's lunch. I think it's a combination between the texture and the taste. It's like Mexican food. You get just the right amount of heat where people can't stop eating.
There's a scene in the film where Richard's son responds like he's in pain from the heat, but doesn't want to stop eating it because it's so good. That's very foreign to me.
I think there's something about the endorphin rush you get. There's serotonin rushes and it's dopamine and all the things that come from the chemical reaction within your body, and some people just don't like it. But other people who respond to it, it becomes part of it. I'm just now discovering this with myself as we're talking. Dopamine, serotonin, like the rush you get from it. It's like you want more, you want to experience that same thing.
You have three films coming out over the span of two months. Do you hate taking time off?
Last year I finished the Jennifer Lopez movie The Mother early in the year, and then I didn't do anything until the summer. I worked for a month in Mexico City, my buddy's movie, and then I didn't do anything for the rest of year. So then everything decides to come out and every time my friends go, "Dude, you're so busy." I'm like, yes and no. Everything is just happening within a two- or three-month period.
And all of your performances and the films are so vastly different. What do you hope people take away from these movies?
I think in general the exposure to the talent that's out there. I've been doing this for 23 years and it's not been an overnight thing. I've had early success with Quinceañera, it kind of gave me my career and the momentum, but between that and now I've had hills and valleys, and the valleys have been deserts. Not to get into the political part of it, we just need more opportunities. Now the opportunities are coming out little by little. There's still a battle but I'm enjoying the ride because I'm getting to do a lot of things.
Despite it being a small independent film, Quinceañera had such a special impact. How did that film shape the actor you would become?
Most actors, you start out going, like, I want to be able to do really big movies and maybe be famous, if that's part of your fantasy, and have money and this and that, which is all great, all that stuff is lovely. I'm still waiting on the money [laughs]. But when I did Quinceañera, what I didn't realize about doing a movie where there's a really important social element to it is that now you kind of have a social responsibility to have thoughts and opinions about it. It's not just about making a movie and releasing it, it's about people being impacted on an emotional level. Whether it's negative or positive, people are going to talk to you about it. People are gonna ask you questions. So I would get messages every now and then. I got a message from this kid one time, [a] young Latino guy. And he goes, "I just watched Quinceañera. Beautiful movie and I really loved your character. Before I watched this movie, I didn't know if I was going to make it. I realized that I'm not alone." It impacts people. Which is very special to me. I didn't really realize that. It's not to say the movie saved people's lives, but it might have, it impacts people in certain ways. There's a bit of an impact and responsibility that comes along with doing what we do, whether we want to be a voice or a face for issues or not, or whatever our opinions are on everything. You do have a responsibility. That does matter. So that I think that is probably the biggest lesson I learned from that experience going forward.
That's so true, because that's what is so great about film as an art form. It allows people to see their stories in diverse ways, and so often that's all people want. To feel seen.
And the other side of that, too, is not necessarily taking everything for gospel. We're still human, we're allowed to make mistakes, we sometimes make mistakes with storytelling. But there's also still wins within storytelling. We take the win, we move on, and we try to do better. I mean, whether it's a sh** sh** movie, or we get some things wrong about some social issues, or there's opinions that some people may not like, cool, we're human, we told a version, we took a risk, or many risks. Let's move on. We can do better.
Listen to H. Alan Scott on Newsweek's Parting Shot. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Twitter: @HAlanScott
