Interview: Jesse Garcia on His Starring Role in ‘Flamin’ Hot’ and Working on ‘The Mother’

Flamin’ Hot tells the story of how Richard Montañez revolutionized an industry by inventing a new type of “Cheetos”, creating a spicy recipe that people still enjoy to this day. The studio needed someone capable of portraying the businessman’s best qualities, and Jesse Garcia‘s performance as Montañez was heartfelt, charismatic and inspiring.

Directed by Eva Longoria, Flamin’ Hot explored Montañez’s story since he was struggling to find a job, eventually ending up at the Frito-Lay factory that would change his life. Across an inspiring journey, the movie approaches the story of a man who wasn’t going to give up under any circumstances, looking out for his family through his job.

When asked about what was used in the scenes where Montañez is working at the factory, Garcia said every Cheeto seen in the film was real: “The Cheetos were real. In the factory set they built, every thing was (operated by humans). They had people behind the scenes turninng the cranks and the belts. Then they added in the sound of the machinery in post-production. But they had edible Hot Cheetos on the line, and everybody could taste them. We did five takes of me eating a Cheeto, and those are all the Cheetos I’ve ever had.”

When asked about the experience of working with Eva Longoria, who directed the film, Garcia had nothing but praise for the filmmaker: “Eva and I have known each other for a long time. We knew of each other, because we had similar circles of friends. (…) As soon as we started hanging out (on set) and realized how much we had in common, it’s like we were cosmic soulmates. (…) Communication was easy and clear. I was fascinated with what she was doing.”

Before starring in Flamin’ Hot, Garcia was seen in The Mother, an action movie led by Jennifer Lopez. When asked about the diiference in preparing for the two films, the actor mentioned: “For The Mother, I worked with an accent coach and a couple of friends on a Cuban accent. I had to work on a Cuban accent, which was not the easiest for me. Luckily I didn’t have a lot of dialogue. I was beat up and with blood coming out of my mouth. I was able to get through it without much difficulty. There was a lot of running. I trained for the running to make sure I wasn’t going to be out of shape.

Flamin’ Hot is currently streaming on Hulu.