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When Cuban actor Héctor Medina read the script for Los Frikis, he immediately knew he wanted the leading role of Paco. Initially contacted as a sort of consultant for the film, Medina was familiar with the story about a group of punk rockers in early ’90s Cuba who, in search of freedom, deliberately injected themselves with HIV to live in a government-administered rural treatment retreat and create their own utopia.

“I was born in 1989. It was the year the socialist wall fell and in 1990, what is called in modern Cuban history the Special Period, began, which is a deep energetic, economic food crisis,” explains the actor in an interview with Billboard Español. Additionally, it was forbidden to listen to rock and roll and having long hair could get you arrested, he adds. “So, the Frikis were very marginalized. It’s a story that even in Cuba is very little known.”

Written and directed by American filmmakers Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, Los Frikis, an independent film inspired by true events, arrives this week in theaters in the United States after making the rounds in the festival circuit, where it has received a variety of awards.

Medina, who left the island about eight years ago and lives in Miami with his wife and two children, not only ended up landing his dream role, but also a credit as a co-producer thanks to his contributions to the film, which was shot in the Dominican Republic (as it could not be done in Cuba).

The movie also stars Eros de la Puente as Gustavo, Paco’s younger brother; and Adria Arjona (daughter of Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona) as María, the sweet caretaker at the retreat. The cast also includes Luis Alberto García and Jorge Perugorría, among others.

Produced by Academy Award winners Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Los Frikis received an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America for language, sexual content, some graphic nudity and drug use. It premieres on Friday, Dec. 20 in New York and Los Angeles, and on Dec. 25 in markets including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Miami.

Below, Medina details his rigorous physical and emotional transformation process to bring Paco to life, the role music plays in the film and the reception this work has had so far.

How did this project come to you?

The project came to me through producer Rebecca Karch Tomlinson, who contacted me to ask some questions about the dialogues and some events that happen in the script. It was more or less something like a review. Of course, I read the script and I [was] totally impressed by how two Americans have written a script about Cuba, such a believable story about my country, and how they want[ed] to do it — and also want to do it with Cubans. And of course, I also fell in love with the story and my character, Paco. From there, I said: “I want to be here, and I want to be Paco.”

Did you have to audition for the role?

Well, yes. They told me, “If you want to be Paco, you have to fight like everyone else and do the casting.” I remember that I did the last scene in the movie, and as soon as they saw the scene, they called me and said, “Are you ready? You’re going to be Paco.” From there began a very tough process of character construction and transformation that was truly a most beautiful experience, because Michael and Taylor have a very particular and very strong method of working with the actors and creating this atmosphere, and get to the point that you are not trying to play the character, but you are the character. And that allows you, once you are on set, to feel confident, to be able to improvise, because they also give you that freedom. It is a very substantial work process; there are many scenes in the film that were not in the script.

You completely disappear into the role, to the point that at the beginning of the film I was looking for you, I didn’t recognize you. How was your transformation, physically and emotionally, into this character? I know you lost weight, you have the mohawk, you lose a tooth in a scene…

It was a very intense, rigorous process. From the first day I had to give up everything gluten and sugar; I only had seltzer water as a reward and one meal a day, which was a little bit of chicken and a little bit of spinach. It included heavy training, running and walking more than four or five miles a day. Then came the process of learning to play music. Mike and Taylor are so specific that they knew every detail. For example, at that time in Cuba there were no American electric guitars, there were only Japanese guitars, Russian amplifiers, Russian basses, and the drums were made with what was found, sometimes even drawers, and they had those specific types of instruments sent to us so we [could] learn how to play them. We got to a point where we even started playing our own music and putting lyrics to it and giving concerts, like in the movie.

Music plays a fundamental role in this story, with Paco as the guitarist in his rock band. Did you play before or did you have to learn for the film?

I played acoustic guitar, but I remembered like two or three chords that they taught me in my neighborhood, back in Cuba, when I was a child, so I didn’t remember very well. In other words, working with the guitar was the most difficult for me, because on top of that, I have no musical ear, I admit. What I do have is a rock and roller spirit and being bold. And also this thing [where] I don’t like to give up, I like obstacles and I like to transform and work hard. I like a challenge.

Did you know about the real Frikis story before getting involved in this project?

Yes, I knew vaguely. I was born in 1989. It was the year the socialist wall fell and in 1990, what is called in modern Cuban history the Special Period, began, which is a deep energetic, economic food crisis. There were shortages of all types of products. In addition, there were also prohibitions: listening to rock and roll music was frowned upon, and for having long hair you could be imprisoned. So, the Frikis were very marginalized. It’s a story that even in Cuba is very little known.

I had an uncle who was a rock and roll lover, and when I was a teenager he took me to a place called Pista Rita, where they played exclusively rock and roll. Going to those places with him at 13, 14 years old, I was able to see Nelson, who was like an urban legend that we had in that town, of course with the spiked mohawk, black boots, tattoos — a very transgressive image. And yet, when I got to know him well, I remember that he handed me a cigarette and he had a great sense of protection with all the boys there. In other words, he greatly encouraged that family spirit, not a gang spirit, but music and family spirit. There was nothing illicit or illegal. It was a feeling that united us with a passion for music, for rock and roll.

From what you say, he sounds a lot like Paco, doesn’t he?

Yes. Paco’s character is not specifically based on a real character, but on several, like all the characters in the film. Paco has a lot of Papo La Bala, one of the leaders and singers of the punk rock band Eskoria in Cuba, who has since died; and he has a lot of that from my personal side, having known him [Papo La Bala].

What made you say “this role has to be mine” when you read the script?

First, the transformation I had to undergo. Second, that he was a difficult character and had a lot of energy; I wanted to do something like that, different. And also, perhaps most importantly, that as a Cuban artist I wanted to say many things that Paco also says — and feels. Feeling that almost kamikaze spirit of freedom above all else, I wanted to share that. I think that was what drove me the most.

You’re not only the leading actor, you are also credited as co-producer. What was your role in that regard?

I think what I did the most was contribute. I mean, I wanted this movie to happen so badly, I wanted this dream to come true so much, that without realizing it I began to contribute to the casting, to writing the lyrics of the songs, changing them and a little bit [of] the scenes. I got involved a lot. In fact, I even designed the logo that appears at the beginning, the Lord Miller logo. I have done so many things. And I feel so grateful and so good that I have always done that. Every time I go into a project I give my all, but the truth is that it is the first time that they have recognized me not only for doing my job as an actor. I think it says a lot about the producers and directors of this film. I am very grateful to them.

Now that Los Frikis will reach a wider audience after its festival run, what do you hope people take away from it?

I really don’t expect anything. I have a very nice feeling about this film through the different screenings we have been to. It is a tremendous delight to turn around and see people’s faces. I believe that it is not an educational film or one that has a specific verbal message for people, but rather a management of a bundle of emotions, a journey of various emotions that in the end stirs your soul and leaves you thinking and perhaps doing what I call the movie after the movie. I think that is the greatest achievement of this film. More important than a verbal message, is that of an emotion, and it shows.