Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander, known in the artistic world only as Diego Luna, was born in Mexico City on December 29, 1979. He is the son of the Mexican Alejandro Luna, an architect, professor, set designer and illuminator of more than 200 plays and 20 operas in Mexico, the United States, Asia and Europe, and of the late English costume designer Fiona Alexander.
Since I was little, Diego accompanied his father to the assembly of stages and thus fell in love with acting. At the age of six he participated with a small role in a play and at eight years of age he acted in the short film The last end of báter.
In 1992 he participated in his first telenovela Grandpa and me next to Gael Garcia Bernal, with whom he struck up a great friendship that still lasts. In 1995 he worked on the telenovela The jackpot, playing the role of son of Carlos Bonavides (Huicho Domínguez) and Laura León.
His first feature film was Amber (1994), an adventure title directed by Luis Estrada. He made his American film debut with Before Night Falls (2000), biopic about the Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, which was embodied by Javier Bardem.
THE SPRING
He alternated between film and television and in 2001 he rose to stardom alongside Gael García in the film And Your Mother Too, which became an international success. This production earned him the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival and the Marcello Mastroiani Award for Best New Actor, in addition to catapulting his career, for which in 2002 he landed a role in the Oscar-winning film Frida, starring Salma Hayek. Since then he has filmed not only in Mexico, but in the US and Spain, alongside actors such as Sean Penn, Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, Salma Hayek, Kevin Costner, Tom Hanks, John C. Reilly , Penélope Cruz y Katy Perry, among many others.
He has participated in the tapes Dark cities (2002), Vampires: The Dead (2002), Carambola (2003), Open Range (2003), Soldiers of Salamis (2003) and Nicotine (2003).
In 2004, Luna released The terminal, by Steven Spielberg, a film in which he shares credits with figures such as Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones y Stanley Tucci. He also participated in Criminals, an independent film, produced by George Clooney and co starring John C. Reilly. That same year he starred Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.
In 2006, Diego released Only God knows, his first local feature film, in which he shares credits with the Brazilian actress Alice Braga, which tells the love story of a journalist and a student. Luna has dedicated this production to her mother.
Then they followed Your life in 65 minutes (2005), Amapola (2005), TotoToto (2006), The Night Buffalo (2007) and Mister Lonely (2007).
On February 5, 2008, Diego Luna married civilly with the actress Camila Sodi, niece of the singer Thalía, with whom in August 2008 he had Jerónimo, her first child, and in July 2010 she had her second daughter, Fiona.
Luna and García Bernal are owners of Canana Films, through which they support the Ambulante festival documentary tour. The company merged with Golden Phoenix Productions, owned by Discovery Channel, to jointly produce several television documentaries about the unsolved murders of more than 300 women in the border city of Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso, Texas. In 2011 Ambulante received the prestigious Human Rights Award from the Washington Office for Latin American Affairs. From then to date, Diego is a member of the board of directors of WOLA, and in January 2015 he narrated a video made by WOLA, Forgotten on the border, which shows the reality of Mexican migrant children fleeing north from violence in his country.
He has also acted in the tapes Rude and Corny (2008), Milk (2008), I just want to walk (2008), In the Playground (2009), My father’s house (2012), Contraband (2012) and Elysium (2013).
One of the films that has given Diego Luna more projection has undoubtedly been Rogue One, where showed that a Latino could be part of the Star Wars universe, Interpreting Cassian Andor, a rebel captain and intelligence officer, who seeks to learn more about the Death Star. The play itself highlights the work of the entire team, but Luna stands out as a kind of modern Han Solo, and its impact was such that we will see it in a future Disney series. Additionally, his performance received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
BIG SERIES
Narcos (2018) is a series that has marked Diego Luna’s career, as he was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Television Awards and won the Best Actor award at the Platinum Awards. In the series, plays Félix Gallardo, who founded the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1970s. However, the work does not glorify the drug trafficker, but rather condemns him, as do his actions to maintain power.
Recently, Disney released that Star Wars: Andor will be the project that Luna will not only star, but will also serve as executive producer.. At the investor event, producer Kathleen Kennedy announced that production has already started in London, but that the project will run until 2022, due to the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
So, although fans of the saga are very aware of the premiere of the movie Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker and seduced by the cuteness of Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian, they will look forward to the premiere of the next Disney Plus series with the character of Diego Luna as the protagonist.
The other confirmed premiere and the Star Wars universe on Disney Plus, is the series about Obi-Wan Kenobi, starring the Scotsman Ewan McGregor.
Disney teased that this exciting spy thriller will explore stories filled with espionage and intrepid missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the clutches of a ruthless Empire.
About her participation in this long-awaited series, Luna said through the official Disney statement: “Going back to the Star Wars universe is very special to me. I have so many memories of the great work we did and the relationships we developed. We have an incredible adventure ahead of us and this exciting new format will give us the ability to explore this character more deeply. “
At the by, Diego Luna announced the premiere of the series Pan y circo, which will premiere on Amazon Prime Video in August. The production is the first collaboration with the streaming company and La Corriente del Golfo, the actor’s production house with Gael García.
Pan y circo presents an innovative format where the chapters will focus on the ritual of sharing a meal. The actor offers a space for chat with guests about key topics, including the recent global crisis of the coronavirus pandemic; in which different points of view will thus meet where he will act as moderator of the talks. Thus, politicians, activists and artists will be accompanied by the menus of renowned Mexican chefs in the same place.
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