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diego luna opens up about her foray into the world of Star Wars and an inclusive industry.- Twenty years have passed since the last time a Latino was nominated for an Emmy under the category of ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama Series’; today, one of our own re-enters that conversation.
Talking about Diego Luna is referring to a successful Mexican actor and director who has also become a leading international voice beyond the screens. And it is that Today he is in the horns of the Moon for his role in the series ‘Andor’, which is broadcast on Disney +.
It is right in the midst of the expectation that the next installment of said production has generated that the artist He spoke in front of the microphones of La Opinión Hoy to talk about the great impact that ‘Star Wars’ has had on his life from an early age and how it has changed.
“It touched me a lot, especially in those first mental years, when I started watching movies. Star Wars had a lot to do with my fascination with cinema (…) I arrived a little late, I was born in 1979, so when I started watching it, it already had to do with belonging to the world that excited my cousins. I was the youngest of the cousins and of course Star Wars was the opportunity to be welcomed and be part of that community, ”he said.
“I grew up watching those films, especially the first three, and a long time later the professional opportunity came to participate in that universe to tell a story and approach this saga, these characters, this ‘distant galaxy’ in a much more mature way”.
And boy did he do it, because the role of ‘Cassian Andor’ came into his hands, whom he has played for almost 10 years and with whom he shares much more than the public can imagine: “I identify with the relationship of a boy who feels different in the environment in which he lives, which he has to build. The story of an orphan who has been forced to migrate to create a family and who also understands along the way that it is fair to create that family where his strength lies. For me, theater has meant that in my life, it is the family that I have chosen and I have found the power of being part of a family that also wants to tell a story”, explained the actor.
“There is also something of that idealism that the character has, I share that desire to live in a more just place. And well, we inhabit the same skin, I have that approach with my work, I lend my character everything that I am and I look for references in my personal life; acting is, after all, a tool to end up inquiring into oneself“he added.
However, the work of Diego Luna was not limited to being reflected in front of the screens, since he is part of the five producers who launched this Disney+ success. This fact fills him with pride and for this reason he did not miss the opportunity to applaud the work of his team of collaborators who have also “put on the shirt”.
“The producers in this series have very specific roles, there is the head that is Tony Gilroy, the writer and the showrunner, who takes the first step and then we are around him Sanne Wohlenberg, who is the one who takes the production on a day-to-day basis. I, from my position as an actor, am also helping his vision go further all the time, ”said Luna. “We are a large production team, but a project like this needs many production heads, while Tony is writing, Sanne is planning and I am on set making sure the story is told as it should be told…“
The great success of ‘Andor’ has been reflected through the affection of the public and the appreciation of his colleagues, but above all in the grain of sand that he has contributed in a context where the struggle to give greater visibility to Latino actors is latent.
“I am grateful that things are changing because when I grew up there were few references, when I went to the movies I had few opportunities to see characters that looked like me, that spoke as I speak, that seemed to come from where I came from. Today I think that we are more and more actresses and actors who are working out there, that we come from different realities and contexts (…) It is appreciated that cinema and television are increasingly reflecting the diversity that we experience day by day ”, he pointed. “I feel fortunate to be part of a moment in the history of the industry in which I work, in which little by little the changes that are essential are taking place.”
Of course, the actor recognized that there is still a lot to be done: “It’s absurd… for more than 20 years there hasn’t been a Latino actor nominated in the ‘Best Actor in a Drama’ category, it’s absurd to think about that when 40% of the people who watch television come from a Latino background. There is a lot to do, but without a doubt we live in a more hopeful future than the one lived 10 years ago”Diego Luna finished.
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