Diego Luna

Diego Luna was born in Mexico City on December 29, 1979. His father, Alejandro Luna, is a Mexican theatre, film, and opera set designer. His mother, Fiona Alexander, was a British costume designer who died when he was young. Luna began acting as a child, appearing in Mexican telenovelas and films before becoming internationally known through Alfonso Cuarón’s 2001 road film, Y tu mamá también. He played Tenoch Iturbide, the wealthy friend who travels with Julio Zapata and Luisa Cortés. Gael García Bernal played Julio, while Maribel Verdú played Luisa. The film's intimate journey changed the three travelers permanently forever afterward. The film helped make Luna and García Bernal prominent faces of a new wave of Mexican cinema beyond Mexico. Luna subsequently appeared in Julie Taymor’s Frida (2002), with Salma Hayek; Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal (2004); and Rudo y Cursi (2008), a football comedy in which he and García Bernal play rival half-brothers. In Milk (2008), Gus Van Sant’s film about Harvey Milk, Luna portrayed Jack Lira, Milk’s former lover. In 2012 he starred in Casa de mi Padre, a Spanish-language absurdist comedy with Will Ferrell, and in Elysium (2013), Neill Blomkamp’s science-fiction film, opposite Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. Luna reached a much wider global audience as Cassian Andor in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016). The film follows a Rebel mission to steal the Death Star plans immediately before the events of the original 1977 Star Wars. Cassian is introduced as an intelligence officer whose commitment to the Rebellion has made him morally compromised. Luna returned to the role as executive producer and star of Andor, the Disney+ prequel series created by Tony Gilroy. Its first season follows Cassian’s movement from a wary thief on Ferrix toward organized rebellion. The series also depicts the Imperial security apparatus. Outside acting, Luna has worked extensively as a producer and cultural organizer. He and García Bernal founded Canana Films in 2005, a production company associated with films including Sin nombre and Miss Bala. In 2005, they co-founded Ambulante, a documentary film festival that travels to different Mexican communities. Luna directed the documentary J.C. Chávez (2007), about boxer Julio César Chávez, and Cesar Chavez (2014), a drama starring Michael Peña as labor leader César Chávez. He has continued combining Mexican projects with international productions, including Narcos: Mexico, where he played cartel leader Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo for its first two seasons.