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Rogue One- A Star Wars Story Japan Premiere Red Carpet-Diego Luna. Photo by Dick Thomas Johnson –Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Diego Luna

Diego Luna Alexander was born on December 29, 1979, in Mexico City, Mexico, to costume designer Alejandro Luna and Fiona Alexander. His father is Mexican, and his mother is British, descended from Scottish and English ancestors. Diego’s mother died in a car accident when he was only two years old. He quickly became engrossed in his father’s passion, entertainment – Alejandro is Mexico’s most acclaimed living theater, cinema, and opera set designer.

He began acting at a young age, working in television, movies, and theater. His first television appearance was in the film The Last New Year (1991). His next appearance was in the Mexican soap opera El Abuelo y yo (1992). After ‘El Abuelo y Yo’, Diego began to receive more and more parts in theaters, movies, and TV. 

In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, he plays Cassian Andor, and in Narcos: Mexico, he plays drug trafficker Miguel Angel Félix Gallardo.

1. Both his parents worked in the entertainment industry

His mother, Fiona Alexander, was a British costume designer while his father, Alejandro Luna, is a theater, film, and opera set designer who reinforced the importance of theater and the arts in his life. Alejandro would bring Diego to the sets and mentor him in different aspects of art, cultivating a desire to become an actor and uphold the family tradition.

2. Diego has featured in the Star Wars spin-off films

For the Star Wars spinoff Rogue One, Luna portrayed rebel intelligence officer Cassian Andor. The role provided a platform for cultural representation in the form of Andor’s Mexican accent, in addition to allowing the actor to shine as a complex but heroic main character. Luna later reprised her role as the ruthless space spy in the Disney+ series “Andor.”

3. Diego was a renowned child actor

Diego Luna. Photo by Niccolò Caranti.

Luna appeared in his first play when he was seven years old. He appeared in several telenovelas as a child actor. Luna co-starred with Gael Garca Bernal as Tenoch Iturbide in Alfonso Cuarón’s 2001 Mexican road trip film Y tu mamá también. The role, which was a critical and commercial success, catapulted him to international stardom.

4. He introduced the Spanish version of Sesame Street

Sesame Street. Photo by Mahdi Bafande.

Sesame Street, a children’s educational television show, is one of the longest-running television shows in history, having first aired in 1969. In 2015, the show transitioned from Spanish language syndication to the creation of a Spanish-language series, Sesame Amigos.
Diego Luna appeared as a guest star in the first episode of Seame Amigos, helping to introduce a new generation to the beloved character of Elmo. In an adorable scene, he and Elmo team up to teach the audience about emotions.

5.  Luna portrayed a Mexican drug pin on Netflix 

In the Netflix series Narcos: Mexico, Luna played Mexican drug cartel leader Miguel Angel Félix Gallardo. The series delves into the origins of the Mexican drug war, beginning with a loose and disorganized confederation of small, independent marijuana growers and dealers. It depicts the formation and rise of the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s, as Miguel Angel Félix Gallardo (Diego Luna) unites several plazas, or territories, to form an infamous drug empire.

6. Luna founded a Mexican film production company

Diego Luna. Photo by Vegafi.

Cananas Films was founded in 2003 by Luna and Garca Bernal, along with producer Pablo Cruz. Cananas oversaw the formation of the nonprofit organization and traveling film festival Ambulante A.C., in addition to supporting a slew of Mexican-produced features.
Luna and Garca Bernal founded La Corriente del Golfo shortly after they announced their departure from Cananas in March 2018.

7. He featured in a sequel for dirty dancing

Dirty Dancing, a 1987 dance film, was a smash hit upon its initial release and remains one of the most popular films of all time. Even die-hard fans may be unaware that a spiritual sequel to the 2004 film, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, exists.
Diego Luna and January Jones starred in the American film, which was shot in Puerto Rico (despite being set in Cuba). The film received mostly negative reviews and was not a box office success, but it is significant as one of Luna’s first major roles.

8. Diego has a passion for activism

Diego Luna and Felicity Jones. Photo by Dick Thomas Johnson.

Luna became involved with UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, among his many activist endeavors in 2013. After an earthquake struck the region around Puebla, Mexico, in September 2017, he and Garca Bernal quickly launched a relief effort to raise funds to rebuild homes, schools, and hospitals.

Luna’s art has also been used to draw attention to the marginalized and persecuted. Nana, his short film that premiered at the 2015 Sun dance Film Festival, was about the personal sacrifices of domestic workers. The actor also used the 2018 Mexican stage production of Privacidad, in which he starred, to speak out against government surveillance overreach.

9. He’s a winner of a daytime Emmy Award

Grammy award. Photo by De’von wellesley.

In 2021, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Talent in a Spanish Language Program for his Amazon Prime Video talk show Pan y Circo (Spanish for “Bread and Circus”), a Mexican Spanish-language talk show TV series that debuted on Amazon Video on August 7, 2020. Luna and six guests sit down for a meal prepared by a well-known Mexican chef and discuss a sociopolitical issue in each episode. Politicians, activists, academics, artists, and celebrities are among the guests.

10. Diego Luna was featured in Kate Perry’s music video

Diego Luna appeared in the music video for Katy Perry’s hit song The One That Got Away in 2011. He played the romantic artist who broke Katy’s heart as she reflected on all the little moments they shared together when she was younger.

The video has nearly 800 million views on YouTube, and almost everyone has seen it at some point in the last decade.

In a 2016 interview with Yahoo, Luna seemed very aware that people recognize him from that music video. Luna went on to say that filming the music video was like a 20-hour party.