Diego Luna facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Diego Luna
Luna at the 2017 Berlinale
Born	Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (1979-12-29) 29 December 1979 (age 45) Toluca, Mexico
Other names	Alexander García
Occupation	Actor director producer
Years active	1987–present
Spouse(s)	Camila Sodi ​ ​ (m. 2008; div. 2013)​
Children	2
Parent(s)	Alejandro Luna (father)

Diego Luna (born December 29, 1979) is a famous Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is well-known for playing Cassian Andor in the Star Wars movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the Disney+ TV show Andor. For his role in Andor, he was even nominated for a Golden Globe Award!

Diego Luna started his acting career early, appearing in Mexican TV shows called telenovelas. He became widely known after starring in the movie Y tu mamá también in 2001. Since then, he has acted in many movies and TV shows, both in Mexico and the United States. Some of his other famous films include Frida, The Terminal, and Milk. He also lent his voice to the animated movie The Book of Life. Besides acting, Diego Luna also directs and produces films and TV shows. He often works with his childhood friend, Gael García Bernal.

Early Life and Family

Diego Luna was born in Toluca, Mexico, and grew up in Mexico City. His mother, Fiona Alexander, was a costume designer from Britain. She passed away when Diego was very young. His father, Alejandro Luna, is a well-known set designer for theater, movies, and opera.

Diego's father taught him a lot about theater and art, which made Diego want to become an actor and continue his family's artistic tradition. Diego has an older sister. He has been best friends with fellow actor Gael García Bernal since they were babies, as their mothers were also close friends.

Career Highlights

Acting Roles

Luna at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival

Diego Luna started acting in plays when he was just seven years old. As a child, he appeared in several telenovelas (Mexican soap operas) and movies. In the 1990s, he was in popular TV shows like El abuelo y yo and El premio mayor. He also starred in movies like Un hilito de sangre, which made him a teen star. His first international movie was Before Night Falls in 2000.

In 2001, Diego starred with Gael García Bernal in Y tu mamá también, a Mexican road trip movie directed by Alfonso Cuarón. This movie was a big hit and made Diego famous around the world. It was also the start of many projects with his friend Gael, and they later created their own film company, Canana Films.

After that, Diego appeared in many movies, including the miniseries Fidel and the Oscar-winning film Frida. In 2004, he had a busy year, starring in Steven Spielberg's The Terminal with Tom Hanks, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and the crime film Criminal. He also appeared in the critically praised movie Milk in 2008.

In the early 2010s, Diego was in the comedy Casa de mi Padre with Will Ferrell and action films like Elysium. He also appeared in Katy Perry's music video for "The One That Got Away". In 2014, he voiced the main character, Manolo Sanchez, in the animated musical comedy The Book of Life.

Luna and Felicity Jones at the premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in Japan

In 2015, it was announced that Diego Luna would join the Star Wars universe. He played Cassian Andor, a Rebel Alliance officer, in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which came out in 2016. This role brought him even more international fame. He returned as Cassian Andor in the Disney+ series Andor, which started in 2022. Diego is also an executive producer for this show.

Diego has also done a lot of voice acting for children's animated shows and movies. He was in DC League of Super-Pets (2022) and voiced Krel Tarron in Guillermo del Toro's Tales of Arcadia TV series, including Trollhunters, 3Below, Wizards, and the movie Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans. In 2024, he reunited with Gael Garcia Bernal in the Hulu miniseries La Máquina.

Producing and Directing

In 2005, Diego Luna, along with Gael García Bernal and Pablo Cruz, started a production company called Canana Films. They have produced many Mexican movies and TV shows. Some of their notable projects include Sin nombre (2009) and Miss Bala (2011). In 2018, Diego and Gael left Canana to start a new company called La Corriente del Golfo.

Diego directed his first film in 2007, which was a documentary about Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez. His first feature film, a comedy-drama called Abel, was released in 2010 and received good reviews.

In 2012, Diego directed Cesar Chávez, a movie about the famous American labor leader. The film starred Michael Peña as Cesar Chávez. He also created and directed a docu-series called Back Home in 2013. His next film as a director was Mr. Pig (2016), which starred Danny Glover.

In 2020, Diego created, produced, directed, and hosted his own talk show on Amazon Prime Video called Pan y Circo. He even won a Daytime Emmy Award for it in 2021! He also created his first TV show, a drama called Everything Will Be Fine [es], which came out on Netflix in 2021. As mentioned, he is also an executive producer for his series Andor. In 2023, it was announced that Diego Luna will executive produce and star in a 'The Boys: Mexico' spinoff with Gael García Bernal.

Other Projects

Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Julia Jentsch at the 2017 Berlinale

Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, and Elena Fortes co-founded Ambulante, also known as the Ambulante Documentary Film Festival. This organization uses documentary films to bring about positive change.

Diego has hosted the MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica several times and has presented awards at many other ceremonies, including the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards. He has also been a jury member at important film festivals like the Sundance Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.

Personal Life

Diego Luna was married to Camila Sodi from 2008 to 2013. They have two children: a son named Jerónimo (born in 2008) and a daughter named Fiona (born in 2010), who is named after Diego's mother. Diego and his family live in Mexico City.

Filmography

Film

Luna in 2018

Television

Theater

• El Cantaro Roto (1996)
• Festen (2006–2007)
• The Good Canary / El buen canario (2008–2009)
• Howl (2012)
• Cada vez nos despedimos mejor (2013, 2014, 2022)
• Privacy (2017–2018)

Music Videos

Awards and Recognition

See also

In Spanish: Diego Luna para niños