Here are five facts about Diego Luna that just proves he’s as cool as the Star Wars character he portrays.
During an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Diego Luna revealed that the upcoming Cassian Andor live-action series has begun filming in London, much to the excitement of Star Wars fans everywhere. It has been just four years since Rogue One was in theaters and Star Wars fans are anxious to see how Disney plans to delve into the character’s backstory. And just this month, fans even got to see a sizzle reel for the Andor series, which featured plenty of Luna in it.
Diego Luna, who hails from Mexico, is a multi-talented actor, director, and producer. You can even hear him sing as Manolo in the animated film The Book of Life. His parents were both in the entertainment industry and he appeared in his first play at the age of seven, along with several notable appearances in telenovelas.
You may be a fan of Cassian Andor, but just how many facts do you know about Diego Luna? We’ve compiled a list of five little-known facts about Diego Luna.
1. Diego Luna was the one who got away
Back in 2011, Diego Luna appeared in the music video for Katy Perry’s hit song The One That Got Away. He portrayed the romantic artist who broke Katy’s heart, as she looks back at all of the little moments that they shared together in her youth. The video has almost 800 million views on YouTube and it’s safe to say that almost everyone has seen it at some point over the last decade.
In an interview with Yahoo in 2016, Luna seemed very aware of the fact that people recognize him from that music video. He said, “I became ‘The Guy from the Video.’ In places where I used to just walk around without getting any attention, suddenly people were like, ‘Oh my God, the guy from the video!’” Luna went on to explain that shooting the music video was like a 20-hour party, so at least it sounds like it was fun to shoot!
2. Diego Luna co-runs a non-profit
In 2005, Luna started a non-profit with his long-time friend and fellow actor Gael García Bernal and Elena Fortes. Documental Ambulante A.C. supports and promotes documentary filmmaking, working to bring programs to areas where documentaries are often unavailable. Beyond this, Luna and Bernal’s non-profit also hosts screenings, workshops, seminars, industry panels, and many more resources throughout Mexico and abroad. Ambulante also hosts the largest documentary festival in Mexico.
Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal have actually been friends since they were infants and they even appeared in the telenovela El Abuelo y Yo when they were children. Ambulante isn’t the only good deed that Luna and Bernal have done together. In 2017, the duo teamed up to raise funds for a relief fund, following a devastating earthquake in Mexico.
Bernal and Luna also launched their own production house in 2018. La Corriente del Golfo is based in Mexico and is the second production company the two have started together.
3. Diego Luna is not in love with Jabba the Hutt
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away… or at least during the Rogue One press tour, Diego Luna expressed an interest in one of the most unlikely Star Wars characters and since then, he has not known peace. Mostly, Luna just discussed how intrigued he was by the texture of Jabba the Hutt’s body, but it did also devolve into French kissing the slug-like creature.
Unfortunately for Luna, the internet never forgets and earlier this year on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show, he expressed how the choice to discuss Jabba the Hutt has affected him. In the interview, Luna explained that with Star Wars press tours, “You say one thing and it haunts you forever.” Of course, Fallon presented him with a hilarious compilation of three of the funnier moments from the press tour, “It started to feel like I was in love with Jabba.”
4. Diego Luna has several connections to Pedro Pascal
After the instant success of Netflix’s Narcos, which starred The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal and focused on the DEA’s pursuit of Pablo Escobar’s Colombian drug cartel, Diego Luna starred in the spinoff series Narcos: Mexico. In the series, Luna portrayed Félix Gallardo, a Mexican drug lord who helped found the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1970s.
In an interview with Trevor Noah for The Daily Show, Luna discussed how he humanizes Gallardo in his portrayal, “I have to give three dimensions, so it’s not the bad guy. It’s a guy that makes wrong choices. He crosses a line I would never cross. But he has a reason. His reasons are the same reasons that move me, you, or anyone.”
Narcos and Star Wars are not the only places that Luna and Pascal have intersected — both actors had supporting roles in the award-winning film If Beale Street Could Talk.
5. Diego Luna grew up a fan of Star Wars
During the press tour for Rogue One, when he wasn’t discussing Jabba the Hutt, Luna reminisced about growing up as a Star Wars fan. Luna, who was born five months before the premiere of The Empire Strikes Back, talked to USA Today about growing up around his older relatives and cousins who were fans of the franchise. In the interview, Luna explained how he remembered “Wanting to like and wanting to be part of the world of my grown-up cousins. I watched it, I became part of that clan and since then I’ve been a huge fan.”
In other interviews, Luna and his Rogue One co-star Felicity Jones discussed how their favorite Star Wars film was The Empire Strikes Back, which also served as a reference point and inspiration while they were filming Rogue One.
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