Latin Americans are on the rise in the film industry and there is perhaps no actor who embodies this ascent more than Kristyan Ferrer.

The 20-year-old Mexican native has appeared in a plethora of films in recent years including "Buen Dia Ramon," "Sin Nombre" and "Days of Grace" among others. The actor is actually set to appear in what may be his biggest role to date in Gabriel Ripstein's "600 Milles." The film was Mexico's foreign language film submission for this year's Oscars. While it missed the final list, the film did bow successful in Berlin last year.

The movie, which also stars Tim Roth, tells the story of a weapon smuggler Arnulfo Rubio who captures an ATF agent and takes him to his cartel bosses. Ferrer, who plays Arnulfo got a call from Ripstein about working on the project and quickly took to the script and story after conversing with the filmmaker.

But before taking on the project, the young actor had a few major questions to answer.

Ferrer told Latin Post that when he looked at the project, the first red flag for him was the themes. For years, Ferrer has moved from one political topic to another. For example, "Sin Nombre" and "Buen Dia Ramon" both approached illegal immigration while "Days of Grace" took on violence. Ferrer was told by many people that he should consider whether he wanted to keep being associated with politically loaded films.

"It is always difficult taking on a movie like this because people constantly tell me that I am doing the same kinds of movies and propagating certain themes associated with Latinos," he stated during the exclusive interview. "But I decided that I would bet on the story and that the film would transcend those ideas."

The other major challenge for the actor regarded the character of Arnulfo.

Research on the subject of weapon trafficking was a tricky proposition because the actor did not find a lot of available information on people that engage in such careers. So how did he solve it? "It was about understanding the context and making up the rest."

Then came the character's very particular psychology.

"He is starting to find his sexuality and understanding his homosexual tendencies, which are not looked well upon in this circle," he revealed. "The hardest thing for any actor is really getting to know the characters. And this one was arguably my most difficult one yet with a lot of questions. For example, I constantly questioned why someone like him would want to traffic these weapons to begin with? Eventually it all came down to being under intense peer pressure from his family and friends."

Ferrer was happy that he got tremendous help from his filmmaker and Roth as collaborators.

Regarding Ripstein, "His objective is always clear and no detail gets past him," Ferrer explained. "He did extensive research, met with immigration and even people who sell guns. He gave himself 110 percent to the project."

Ferrer related a story about how an Academy member who saw the film congratulated the director on his work noting that of all the Foreign Language film submissions this year, this one was presented in a documentary style that truly immersed the viewer in the world.

"It speaks to his genius," added Ferrer about Ripstein. "He is a master."

He also had complimentary words about Roth, whom he deemed a "great teammate that taught me how to be a great teammate."

For Ferrer, the time is ripe to continue his growth. But the actor is not one to talk about being a success or a failure. In fact, he doesn't believe in either.

"A great actor once told me that success and failure do not exist. Just do your job to the best of your ability and enjoy it. That is how I approach my work."

Ferrer's next projects include "Moronga" and "La Habitacion."