‘Flamin’ Hot’ Star Jesse Garcia on Why Latino Projects Don’t Have ‘the Luxury of Failing’ and That Cheetos Controversy

The first time Jesse Garcia (Quinceaera, Narcos: Mexico) learned about Richard Montaez the former Frito-Lay executive whos said that he invented the wildly successful Flamin Hot Cheetos brand when he was working as a janitor for the company the actor immediately thought, That would be an awesome movie. Years later, Eva Longoria cast Garcia to play Montaez for her feature directing debut, Flamin Hot, which premieres June 9 on Hulu and Disney+.

The film, produced by DeVon Franklin (Breakthrough, Miracles From Heaven), covers Richards life from his difficult childhood to his marriage to his high school sweetheart Judy (Annie Gonzalez) to his rise at Frito-Lay. For Garcia, it was an all-too-rare opportunity to depict the real-life story of a Latino family in a mainstream feature film.

Non-Latino projects, they have the luxury of failing, Garcia says. But if our work doesnt work or if for some reason is not successful its a struggle to get the next project. Thats why Flamin Hot was so super, super important to Eva, to me, to DeVon, to the rest of the creative team. If we make this movie as a success, [the studio execs] go, OK, lets see more. Lets see more of Jesse. Lets see more of Annie. Lets see more of what Eva can do. It works. It makes money. People want to see it.

Right before production on Flamin Hot began in 2021, however, the Los Angeles Times published a story that alleged that Montaez did not invent the Flamin Hot Cheeto, after an internal investigation at Frito-Lay reportedly revealed that not only had another unit of the company developed the product instead, but the company had no documentary proof that Montaez had been involved in its creation and test marketing.

After Montaez disputed the L.A. Times story telling Variety in 2021 that he did meet with then-PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico to pitch a version of the product he developed in his home Frito-Lay subsequently expressed support for Montaez, saying the company had no reason to doubt Montaezs account.

The filmmakers of Flamin Hot did amend the script to acknowledge the work of the separate division of Frito-Lay. But, in his conversation with Variety, Garcia says that while he had some immediate concerns about the future of the movie when the L.A. Times story first broke, Montaez assured the actor that he had a paper trail that supported his account.

In a statement to Variety for this story, Montaez also says he has letters, notes and presentations that back him up.

PepsiCo, my home for over 40 years, wasnt just a job; it was a place where leaders like Roger Enrico, Steve Reinemund, Al Carey, and Indra Nooyi believed in a janitor with ideas, Montaez says. They saw what I could be, and Ill forever be grateful. Ive got letters, notes, and presentations, proving their faith in me and my creation. Flamin Hot is based on what I know and thats my story; my personal journey and what the power of determination and hard work can do. I believe its a story worth sharing.

As a film, Flamin Hot does not dwell on this controversy, focusing instead on depicting how Montaez fought to build a life for himself and his family. Garcia spoke with Variety about what it was like to have Montaez on set while filming, why he loves working with Longoria as a director and as an actor, and why he was so confident that he would be cast in the role.

Emily Aragones / Courtesy of Searchlight Were you a fan of the Flamin Hot Cheeto before this movie?

When I was younger. Im having to be careful about this: I eat very, very, very clean. Very rarely do I eat, uh, accessory foods, Ill call it. But there was a point in time where I liked Cheetos.

How did you hear about this role?

All my friends who auditioned for the role, so many of them called me or texted me: Hey, I dont know if youve read for this movie yet, I just read for it, but this is your movie. You should be auditioning. And I go, Yeah, I just sent my tape and well see what happens.

Why do you think your friends were telling you that?

Probably the same reason I thought: The second I read it, I go, This is my movie. All my friends, they know my work. Were all supportive of each other. But I told Richard and Eva and DeVon, This part was always mine. I just needed you guys to catch up and figure it out.

How many opportunities are there for movies with Latino leads that are about Latino families?

Not very many. The opportunities that do happen would only go to a handful of actors, male or female. The studio I think Im okay with saying it was like, Well, there are no Latino stars. And Evas response was, Well, lets make some.

So they put this movie in her hands and go, Alright, were gonna let you use the DP that you want. Were gonna give you the cast that you want. But if it fails, its on your hands. So there was a lot for all of us to prove. The cast and the crew, we felt like this is a movie of underdogs where we dont really have the luxury to fail. Also, Richard and his family, theyre still alive, and we have to honor them.

Did you spend time with Richard to prepare?

I did. I really only had time to spend a couple hours with him before I came out to Albuquerque to start prepping, doing 80 costume changes. We would do a wig change and a look change with the mustache and the goatee, sometimes in the middle of the day. We were shooting incredibly fast, so I only had a little bit of time to sit with him. We talked about some stuff and exchanged numbers. I would ask him about what he would say to people when he was handing out Cheetos, slang that he would use, if he carried things with him in his pocket just the cool details that I could put in throughout the performance. He came to set and his family was in the movie. So they were very much a part of the movie; all along the process, they were there hanging out and cheering us on.

Because Richard is somewhat of a public person, was there any part of his voice or physicality that you wanted to draw from?

Ive watched some videos of his speeches. Part of the conversation that I had with him, I said, I just need you to know that Im not going to be doing an imitation of you. Im going to be doing my version of your life, with as close as what I can get to you as possible. His voice and his mannerisms are unique, and we just didnt have time I got the movie very quickly, and we were into production fast. The important thing for me and for Eva was to tell his story. So I didnt really study his mannerisms, necessarily.

What was it like to have Richard and Judy on set?

Ill tell you a quick story. In the movie, when Annie, who plays Judy, and I are in the car and then get pulled over, were kind of bickering back and forth and she hits me on the shoulder because shes pissed that were in a stolen car. Richard and Judy and the whole family were at video village watching the scene. Annie and I are having a ton of fun with it, improvising. They call cut. And Judy and Richard are going like, Oh my God, thats what you would say! And: I hit him just like that, the same time it happened! Then Richard gave me a big hug, and he looks at me and he goes, You know, I wasnt sure before. But I get it now. I see what youre doing. It was important for me to get his approval.

Right before you started shooting, the Los Angeles Times published a story that alleged that Richard wasnt the creator of the Flamin Hot Cheetos as he had claimed, and that another unit of Frito Lay had been developing the product before Richard ever got involved. What was your reaction to that story?

Well, my first reaction was, Oh shit, is this movie going to happen? This movie was important to me not just career-wise. This is a big opportunity for Annie, for Eva, for DeVon, for Richard. We called Eva: Whats going on? Her and DeVon were putting out fires and getting apologies. Because Richard has a paper trail of all the things that happened. When I talked to Richard, he goes, I have a paper trail of me being in the room, of me exchanging emails with Enrico, with me doing this and that.

In the movie, we even touched on it, where they were developing a hot chip, but it wasnt quite working. They couldnt get the flavor right and they didnt know how to market it. And Richard didnt know that. So he and his family, they came up with their own recipe and a slurry. What was really appealing to Frito Lay was, he was able to market toward the Hispanic community. Because of that, its become one of the best-selling snacks of all time.

Jesse Garcia, Annie Gonzalez, and Hunter Jones in Flamin Hot. Emily Aragones / Courtesy of Searchlight So did the filmmakers change the script after the L.A. Times story to reflect the other divisions work on the chip?

Honestly, I dont remember. It had been so long since I read the very first version of it to what we were shooting. I know that there was more of an effort to make sure that that was in the movie, that there was something going on. But, you know, he didnt know about it. They couldnt get the recipe right and they were going to market it toward a whole different demographic. Id have to go back and look at my scripts and see if that was a big change. But I feel like it was always there. I dont remember.

What was Eva like as a director? What is her approach?

I had no idea that she had been directing for 10 or 12 years, doing TV. I knew she had a vision. There was a lot of pressure on her to get it right. She was like, I need someone that can move as fast as I want to move, and can pull the performance out. If she said ride an alligator across the factory, I would have done it. So smart. So fast. The creative things that she was doing she had a vision and she got it.

How much time did she have to work with you on your performance, given how fast she was working?

We shot like a TV show. We had seven weeks to shoot this movie, but that was a very, very ambitious schedule for the amount of stuff that we got done. We were in Albuquerque for about a month before we started shooting. I probably had 80 costume changes, so I was preparing a ton that way. But then we would have a couple different weekends of rehearsals. Eva and I and other actors, we made tweaks as we went.

I love working with Eva. We can almost look at each other and know, Yeah, that doesnt work, or this works, or lets change this to that. We have so much fun. There was a lot of collaborating, a lot of talking to each other and a lot of making sure that we all cared so much about telling the right story in the right way.

And now the two of you are playing husband and wife in the new film based on Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Whats it like acting with Eva versus being directed by her?

So much fun. We collaborate so well together. Im working on my directing stuff as well, and we both see the big picture and how it works with the story. As far as her and I as partners, were just a couple of kids trying to have fun.

You mentioned earlier that one of Evas goals with Flamin Hot is to create more Latino movie stars. Is that also part of whats motivating you to start moving into directing?

Absolutely. When I very first started acting in the summer of 2000, before I knew the politics of Hollywood, I had the thought, I want to be successful enough where I can open doors and create opportunities for anybody who wants it specifically Latinos, because we dont often get the opportunities. I hope this can be an opportunity to create something bigger. Bigger than I can even handle. Just put a whole hand down, bring somebody else up.

This interview has been edited and condensed.