Two Cuban actors, who starred in an award-winning film about defecting to the United States and had disappeared en route to New York for the movie's premier at the Tribeca Film Festival, have emerged in Miami to say that they will apply for political asylum in hopes of a better life in the US.

In an interview that aired on Friday, Javier Nunez Florian and Anailan de la Rua, both aged 20, told America TeVe, a Spanish-language channel, that during a stopover in Miami on their Wednesday flight from Havana to New York, the two carried out their planned getaway to fulfill an old dream of living and working in the country.

"We are ready to do any work that is available," said Nunez Florian.

Wilfredo Allen, an Immigration attorney, said the pair, who played leading roles in the film "Una Noche", would apply for political asylum in the United States within 10 days, and that they had a "very high chance" of getting their request approved.