Diego Luna
Template:Short description Template:Other people Template:Family name hatnote Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person
Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (Template:IPA; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in Rogue One (2016) and its prequel series Andor (2022–2025), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.
Following an early career in Mexican telenovelas, Luna had his breakthrough in the critically acclaimed 2001 film Y tu mamá también. During the 2000s, he appeared in both Mexican and American films including Frida, Open Range, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, The Terminal, Criminal, Milk, Sólo quiero caminar, and Rudo y Cursi. In the 2010s, his films included the science fiction Elysium, comedy Casa de mi Padre, and the animated musical The Book of Life. From 2018 to 2020, he starred as the drug trafficker Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo in Narcos: Mexico.
Luna has appeared in numerous Mexican theater productions and produced both film and television projects, many with Gael García Bernal. Since 2010, he has directed three feature films: Abel, Cesar Chavez, and Mr. Pig. He is the creator and director of the 2013 Fusion TV docu-series Back Home, the Amazon Studios talk show Pan y Circo, which premiered in 2020, and the 2021 Netflix scripted series Template:Ill. In 2025, Time magazine listed Luna as one of the world's 100 most influential people.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Early life
Luna was born in Toluca and raised in Mexico City. His mother, Fiona Alexander, was a British costume designer of Scottish and English descent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> She died in a car accident when Luna was two years old.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His father, Alejandro Luna, was a theater, film, and opera set designer. He has an older sister.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Luna and his frequent co-star Gael García Bernal have known each other since infancy, as their mothers were friends. They spent time together as young children and developed a close friendship growing up.<ref name="independent.co.uk">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1994, Luna participated in youth-led activism in support of Indigenous rights during the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas. Alongside classmates, he helped organize protests, fundraisers, and food drives in response to the movement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
Acting
Luna acted in his first play at age seven. As a child actor, he appeared in several telenovelas and films.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1992, he had arcs on Televisa's El abuelo y yo and Ángeles sin paraíso. As a teenager, Luna was part of the main casts of El premio mayor (1995–1996) and La vida en el espejo (1999–2000), playing the main characters' son;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> he also starred in the films Un hilito de sangre (A Trickle of Blood; 1995), El cometa (The Comet; 1999), and Un dulce olor a muerte (A Sweet Scent of Death; 1995), all which made him a teen star.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He had small roles in the films Todo el poder (Gimme the Power; 2000) and Before Night Falls (2000).
Luna starred as Tenoch Iturbide alongside Gael García Bernal in Y tu mamá también (2001), a Mexican road trip film directed by Alfonso Cuarón.<ref name="auto" /> A critical and box office success, the role brought him international stardom.<ref name="auto" /> The film was the beginning of a series of high-profile collaborations with childhood friend García Bernal,<ref name="independent.co.uk" /> with whom he would costar in several films and go on to establish Canana Films. For these roles and others, the two are considered to be faces of the Nuevo Cine Mexicano film movement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the following two years, Luna acted in Mexican films along with English-language productions like the miniseries Fidel, Vampires: Los Muertos, the Kevin Costner western Open Range, and the Academy Award-winning Frida. He starred in the 2003 film Nicotina, which was critically and commercially successful in Mexico. 2004 was a significant year for Luna as he starred in Steven Spielberg's The Terminal alongside Tom Hanks, the film Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (a Cuban-based reimagining of Dirty Dancing), and the indie crime film Criminal alongside John C. Reilly. He subsequently had starring roles in the films Fade to Black (2006) and Harmony Korine's Mister Lonely (2007), and also appeared in the critically acclaimed biopic Milk (2008). In Spanish-language film, he starred in Sólo Dios sabe opposite Alice Braga (Only God Knows; 2006), crime thriller Solo quiero caminar (Walking Vengeance; 2008)—for which he was nominated for a Goya Award—and the soccer comedy Rudo y Cursi (2008), one of the highest grossing Mexican films of all time.
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In the early 2010s, Luna co-starred in the Will Ferrell Spanish-language comedy Casa de mi Padre (2012) and appeared in the action films Contraband and Elysium.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> He appeared opposite Katy Perry in her music video for "The One That Got Away;" as of 2024, the music video has over 1 billion views on YouTube.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> He starred in the animated musical comedy The Book of Life (2014) whose soundtrack charted in numerous countries. In 2015, the pilot episode of the Amazon Studios series Casanova, in which Luna stars as Giacomo Casanova.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The show was not picked up to series.
In August 2015, it was announced that Luna was part of the cast of what was then known as Star Wars: Rogue One.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rogue One: A Star Wars Story premiered in 2016, and his portrayal of Cassian Andor,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a captain and intelligence officer of the Rebel Alliance, brought him international attention. He reprised the role in Andor (2022–2025), the Disney+ series centered around the character. The show was originally announced in 2018 but production was delayed until November 2020 by the development process and the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A second and final season began production in Fall 2022 and was expected to wrap up filming in August 2023, however, it was delayed because of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The second season wrapped in February 2024 and began its release in April, 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Luna is an executive producer of the series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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In 2017, it was announced that he would star in a Scarface remake;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> however, the film went through multiple rewrites and directorial changes in the following years, losing Luna as the lead in the process.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Luna starred as Mexican drug cartel leader Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo in the Netflix series Narcos: Mexico,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which premiered in November 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He appeared in the first two seasons of the show. Film roles around this time included ensemble roles in the auteur films If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) and A Rainy Day in New York (2019), and a starring role in the 2020 indie drama Wander Darkly. Luna had a number of voice acting roles in children's animation, including the 2022 box office hit DC League of Super-Pets; notably, he is part of every installment of Guillermo del Toro's Tales of Arcadia television franchise: Trollhunters (2016), 3Below (2018), Wizards (2020) and the film Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021). In 2024, he again, starred alongside close friend and frequent collaborator Gael Garcia Bernal, in the Hulu Original miniseries, La Máquina, as the eponymous character's long time friend and manager, Andronico "Andy" Lujan. He received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television in 2025 for his performance in the series.
Producing and directing
With frequent collaborator Gael García Bernal and producer Pablo Cruz, Luna created the production company Canana Films in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Fuente">Template:Cite web</ref> Together, they have produced dozens of Mexican film and television productions. Notably, they executive produced the 2009 Cary Fukunaga film Sin nombre, which was honored by the Sundance Film Festival and Independent Spirit Awards, the 2011 thriller Miss Bala which was submitted as Mexico's foreign-language Oscar submission,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the 2015 drama The Chosen Ones. In 2015, Luna and Cruz launched the branded entertainment studio Gloria for Latin American talent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Luna and García Bernal departed Canana in 2018, subsequently founding a new production company, La Corriente del Golfo.<ref name="Fuente"/> In October 2019, it was announced that Luna and García Bernal were joining the Creative Advisory Board for the TV and film development company EXILE Content.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2020, they signed a first-look deal with Amazon Studios.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2007, Luna directed his first film, a documentary about Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> His first feature film, a dramedy titled Abel, premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2012, Luna directed the biopic Cesar Chávez; the film starred Michael Peña as Cesar Chávez, the founder of the United Farm Workers, America Ferrera, and Rosario Dawson.<ref name="Wilkinson">Wilkinson, Tracy. "Diego Luna's Cesar Chavez Movie Marches in Mexico." Los Angeles Times. July 1, 2012. Accessed 2012-10-14.</ref> The film premiered at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival and was awarded an Audience Award for Narrative Feature at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film received mixed reviews.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The following year, he created and directed the docu-series Back Home, which follows celebrity guests on a journey to their family homelands.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Citation</ref> The show was broadcast on Fusion TV.
His next feature film was Mr. Pig, also known as Sr. Pig, which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Danny Glover and Maya Rudolph whose characters travel on a road trip through Mexico.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
It was announced in 2019 that Luna and García Bernal would executive produce an epic miniseries Cortes for Amazon starring Javier Bardem as conquistador Hernán Cortés, then described as "the largest Spanish-language production of all time."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Two weeks into production in 2020, the production was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2020, Luna created the Amazon Prime Video talk show Pan y Circo, which he produced, directed, and hosts; the following year, he received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Talent in a Spanish Language Program.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He created his first scripted television series, the satirical drama Template:Ill, which was released on Netflix in 2021. Luna is also an executive producer of his series Andor which premiered in 2022. In 2023, it was announced that Luna is set to executive produce and star in a 'The Boys: Mexico' spinoff alongside his frequent collaborator and friend, Gael García Bernal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In February 2025, he began shooting A Mouthful of Ash, which he produced, directed and co-wrote based on the novel by Brenda Navarro.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Other work
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Luna, García Bernal, and Elena Fortes co-founded Ambulante, also known as the Ambulante Documentary Film Festival, an organization and film festival whose mission is for documentary films to be used as tools for transformation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The organization received the prestigious Washington Office on Latin America's Human Rights Award in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed In January 2015, Luna narrated a video of theirs about the obstacles faced by children migrating from their home countries and seeking refuge in the U.S.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed
Luna was a repeat host of the 2000s-era MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica, hosting in 2002, 2003, and 2007; he presented an award at the 2006 ceremony. In 2004, he co-hosted the 18th Goya Awards with Cayetana Guillén Cuervo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has also presented at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards, Premio Lo Nuestro 2014, 2014 MTV Fandom Awards, 74th Golden Globe Awards, 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards, 91st Academy Awards, and 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Luna was a jury member at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. He was a member of the 2016 jury for the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2017, he was part of the International Jury at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
Luna married Camila Sodi in February 2008;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> they divorced in March 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They have two children: Jerónimo (b. August 12, 2008),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Fiona (b. July 1, 2010), named after Luna's mother.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Luna previously resided in Los Angeles; since 2017, he and his family have lived in Mexico City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Clear
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Template:Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Ámbar | Muni Frahabarana | ||
| 1995 | Morena | Dos | ||
| A Trickle of Blood | León | |||
| 1997 | Template:Ill | Victor | ||
| 1999 | A Sweet Scent of Death | Ramón | ||
| 2000 | Before Night Falls | Carlos | ||
| Todo el Poder | Esteban | |||
| 2001 | Y tu mamá también | Tenoch Iturbide | ||
| 2002 | Frida | Alejandro Gonzalez Arias | ||
| Vampires: Los Muertos | Sancho | |||
| The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in Hollywood | Himself | |||
| 2003 | Nicotina | Lolo | ||
| Carambola | El Perro | |||
| Soldados de Salamina | Gastón | |||
| Open Range | Button | |||
| 2004 | Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights | Javier Suarez | ||
| The Terminal | Enrique Cruz | |||
| Criminal | Rodrigo | |||
| 2006 | Only God Knows | Damián | Executive producer | |
| Template:Ill | Template:N/A | Executive producer | ||
| Un mundo maravilloso | Reportero en Estocolmo | |||
| Fade to Black | Tommaso Moreno | |||
| 2007 | Mister Lonely | Michael Jackson | ||
| Déficit | Template:N/A | Producer | ||
| Cochochi | Template:N/A | Executive producer | ||
| El búfalo de la noche | Manuel | Co-producer | ||
| Template:Ill | Himself | Documentary; director and producer | ||
| 2008 | Just Walking | Gabriel | Executive producer | |
| Voy a explotar | Template:N/A | Executive producer | ||
| Milk | Jack Lira | |||
| Rudo y Cursi | Beto | |||
| 2009 | Sin nombre | Template:N/A | Executive producer | |
| 2010 | Abel | Template:N/A | Director and producer | |
| 2011 | Na Nai'a: Legend of the Dolphins | Himself (narrator) | Documentary | |
| Miss Bala | Template:N/A | Executive producer | ||
| 2012 | Contraband | Gonzalo | ||
| Casa de Mi Padre | Raul | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Made in Mexico | Himself | Documentary | ||
| 2013 | Paraíso | Template:N/A | Executive producer | |
| Elysium | Julio | |||
| 2014 | César Chávez | Template:N/A | Director and producer | <ref name="McClintock">Template:Cite web</ref> |
| The Book of Life | Manolo Sanchez (voice) | <ref name="btva2">Template:Cite web A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref> | ||
| 2015 | The Chosen Ones | Template:N/A | Executive producer | |
| 2016 | Mr. Pig | Template:N/A | Director and producer | |
| Salt and Fire | Template:N/A | Executive producer | ||
| Blood Father | Jonah | |||
| The Bad Batch | Jimmy | |||
| Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Cassian Andor | |||
| 2017 | Flatliners | Ray | ||
| Crow: The Legend | Moth (voice) | Short film | ||
| 2018 | If Beale Street Could Talk | Pedrocito | ||
| 2019 | Chicuarotes | Template:N/A | Associate producer | |
| Berlin, I Love You | Drag Queen | |||
| A Rainy Day in New York | Francisco Vega | |||
| 2020 | Wander Darkly | Matteo | ||
| 2021 | Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans | Krel Tarron (voice) | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="btva2" /> | |
| 2022 | DC League of Super-Pets | Chip (voice) | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="btva2" /> | |
| 2025 | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Valentin Arregui | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| On the Road (En el camino) | Template:N/a | Producer | ||
| Template:TBA | Template:Pending film | Template:N/a | Filming; director, writer, and producer | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Template:Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | El abuelo y yo | Luis | ||
| 1992–1993 | Ángeles sin paraíso | Móises | ||
| 1995 | El premio mayor | Quique Domínguez | Recurring | |
| 1999 | Template:Ill | Eugenio Román Franco | ||
| 2002 | Fidel | Renato Guitart | Television film | |
| 2010 | Great Migrations | Narrator | Miniseries | |
| Gritos de muerte y libertad | Guadalupe Victoria | Miniseries | ||
| 2010–2012 | Soy tu fan | Template:N/A | Co-producer | |
| 2011 | Niño Santo | Template:N/A | Associate producer | |
| 2013 | Template:Ill | Template:N/A | Co-producer | |
| American Dad! | Mauricio (voice) | Episode: "Poltergasm" | ||
| Back Home | Template:N/A | Creator, director, executive producer | <ref name=":1" /> | |
| 2015 | Casanova | Giacomo Casanova | Amazon Studios pilot | |
| 2018–2020 | Narcos: Mexico | Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo | Lead role; 20 episodes | |
| 2018 | Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia | Krel Tarron (voice)<ref name="btva2" /> | Episode: "In Good Hands" | |
| 2018–2019 | 3Below: Tales of Arcadia | Lead role | ||
| 2020 | Wizards: Tales of Arcadia | 3 episodes | ||
| Home Movie: The Princess Bride | Inigo Montoya | Miniseries | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | |
| Pan y Circo | Himself (host) | Talk show; creator and executive producer | ||
| 2021 | Template:Ill | Template:N/A | Creator, director, and executive producer | |
| Maya and the Three | Zatz (voice) | Miniseries | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="btva2" /> | |
| 2022–2025 | Andor | Cassian Andor | Lead role and executive producer; 23 episodes | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2024 | La Máquina | Andronico "Andy" Lujan | Lead role, executive producer; Hulu original miniseries |
Theater
Selected credits
- El Cantaro Roto (1996) <ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Festen (2006–2007) – Teatro Helénico<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The Good Canary / El buen canario (2008–2009) – Teatro de los Insurgentes<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Howl (2012) – Teatro Helénico<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Cada vez nos despedimos mejor (2013, 2014) – Teatro de la Sala Chopin<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Privacy (2017–2018) – Teatro de los Insurgentes<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Cada vez nos despedimos mejor (2022) – Las Naves del Español, Madrid<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist | Role | Template:Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "The One That Got Away" | Katy Perry | Artist Boyfriend | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2018 | "El beso" | Mon Laferte | Man |
Awards
References
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- 1979 births
- 20th-century Mexican male actors
- 21st-century Mexican male actors
- Daytime Emmy Award winners
- Hispanic and Latino American male actors
- Living people
- Male actors from Mexico City
- Mexican film directors
- Mexican film producers
- Mexican male child actors
- Mexican male film actors
- Mexican male telenovela actors
- Mexican male voice actors
- Mexican people of British descent
- Mexican people of English descent
- Mexican people of Scottish descent
- Mexican television producers
- Marcello Mastroianni Award winners
- People from Toluca