Why Eva Longoria embraced the story of 'Flamin' Hot': Heroes are 'never brown, never Chicano'

Eva Longoria felt passionate about portraying a Latino as the hero of his own story in "Flamin' Hot," which depicts a Mexican American janitor's rise to the top of corporate America.

"We don't get to see heroes on screen look like this," Longoria says. "Hollywood always defines what a hero looks like. It's never brown, it's never Chicano."

As the "Desperate Housewives" actress brought the narrative to life, she felt she had a lot to prove for her first feature film gig in the director's chair. "Being a female director in this industry is still hard," she says. "We don't get the same opportunities as our male counterparts and then, you know, throw Latina on top of that and it's even less."

Longoria, 48, has directed for more than two decades now − including TV shows "Gordita Chronicles," "Jane the Virgin" and "Black-ish" − but with "Flamin' Hot," the stakes were higher. The movie (streaming Friday on Hulu and Disney+) tells the real-life, rags-to-riches story of Richard Montañez, who says he invented Frito-Lay's Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

That claim has been contested in a 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation, but Longoria says she "never wanted to tell the history of the Flamin' Hot Cheeto. I've always been committed to telling Richard's story."

When Longoria began production on the movie, starring Jesse Garcia as Montañez and Annie Gonzalez as his wife, Judy, she felt the "pressure to represent women and Latinas who want a shot like this."

Failure wasn't an option, or else the doors could close.

"If I don't succeed, studios think, 'Oh, those stories don't work or female directors don't work, we already tried it and it wasn't really great.' And then it's another 20 years before we get another shot again," Longoria says. "I couldn't get it wrong for so many people and that really fueled me."

Eva Longoria on why she's the 'only person who can tell this story'

Longoria "immediately felt ownership" when she read the "Flamin' Hot" script and felt she was the "only person who can tell this story."

At her core, she wanted Latinos to "see the possibility of what they can be" in the life of Montañez, who went to work as a janitor for Frito-Lay at age 18 and later became vice president of multicultural sales and community promotion for PepsiCo.

"The fact that I had this opportunity to paint what a hero looks like for us, and it looked like Richard, like somebody who looks like and sounds like my dad, my tio (uncle). For me, that's a hero," Longoria says.

Eva Longoria says Richard Montañez's wife, Judy, is 'the heart of the story'

More than a movie about a spicy chip, "Flamin' Hot" is a "love story that really shows how no one can do everything on their own," says Garcia.

Longoria wanted to show viewers the "complex, inspiring and motivating" story of Montañez and his No. 1 supporter.

Judy was barely in the original script, Longoria says, but once she and the film's co-writer Linda Yvette Chávez met with Richard and Judy, they both came to a realization: "Judy's the heart of the story."

Immediately, they decided to delve deeper into Judy's backstory. "I loved seeing a Latina that was outspoken and tough and supportive and loving and kind," Longoria says. "She is so complex."

After meeting the couple over "a delicious spread of food," Gonzalez recalls wanting to speak one-on-one with Judy to "dive in deep on what her reservations were" in bringing the story to the screen and what "she was excited to share."

Gonzalez wanted to reassure Judy she would portray her with the utmost care. "She was my mom, she is my tia (aunt), she is my abuela (grandmother)," Gonzalez says. "She's a strong, beautiful brown badass woman."

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Through playing Richard and Judy, "we were able to share what it's like to be a part of Latino culture and still make everyone feel included," Garcia says.

"Whether you come with a silver spoon in your mouth, everyone struggles and feels like an underdog at some point," he says. "To be a part of this movie and have the root of it be about this Latino family is special."

Jesse Garcia had his first Flamin' Hot Cheeto during filming

Being a Flamin' Hot Cheetos connoisseur was not a prerequisite for landing a role.

Garcia tried his first spicy Cheeto during the movie. "We had to do five different takes of me eating a Hot Cheeto, so I have had five Hot Cheetos in my life," he says. "I'm kind of ashamed to say it."

Gonzalez, on the other hand, was a "Hot Cheetos girlie" back in her day. "I definitely was a little Hot Cheetos girl with the red fingers," she says, adding her favorite is the Flamin' Hot Limón Cheetos.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Flamin' Hot' movie: Eva Longoria talks Hot Cheetos origins