Diego Luna’s Star Wars journey has been filled with full-circle moments for the Mexican actor. The critically acclaimed second season ofAndorended on May 13 — exactly 10 years to the day that his casting inRogue One: A Star Wars Storywas first announced. But Luna’s time in the galaxy far, far away actually started four months prior to that, while he was on the set ofJean-Pierre Jeunet’sCassanova. “I couldn’t share that my life was about to change dramatically,” he divulges over Zoom. Luna has just landed in Spain after a whirlwind week of press engagements in the wake ofAndor’s finale. (Later, he admits that he did risk sharing the news with his late father,Alejandro Luna, who managed to keep it secret.)
LikeAndor,Rogue Onehad a long pre-production period, which Luna credits as a reason for its success, referencingGuillermo Del Toro’soft-quoted comments about the impossibility of filmmaking. “When you find yourself in trouble, you take the riskier and more exciting decisions,” Luna notes. “I thinkRogue Onewas taking a big risk.” He also commends Lucasfilm andKathleen Kennedyfor taking a risk on not only the film, but the prequel series. At the time, Luna shares, he andAlan Tudykwould joke about coming back to tell the story of how Cassian and K-2SO met, but it was nothing more than on-set daydreaming. “I think those jokes started to happen because you’re trying to tell the people you’re working with that you were enjoying the journey.”
Two years later, that joke became a reality when Luna received a call about working on a new series about Cassian. But the details were vague, and the process was belabored by showrunner changes and various delays. “I was very distant and doing a lot of other stuff untilTony [Gilroy]came in.”
Gilroy turned out to be the shock of life the series needed, but Luna is insistent on giving credit where credit is due forAndor’s success: “We were always encouraged to keep going from Kathy and from Disney.”Andorwas originally set to be a five-season series, but Gilroy and Luna quickly realized the level of commitment that meant for them and all of the creative parties involved. When the plan changed to two seasons,with the final season spanning the five-year windowbetween Season 1 andRogue One, there was no hesitation. “We never had to worry about ‘Is there going to be another season?’ Our worry was ‘Howdo we make sure it’s just one more season?’” Luna adds. “There was always a feeling of, ‘Yes, you are going to get to the end of what you guys pictured and promised.’ We all have to get there because this series only succeeds if it ends atRogue One.”
How Growing Up in Theater Instilled Luna With a Strong Sense of Community
In the second season ofAndor, Cassian encounters aForce healer who refers to him as a “messenger”and goes on to explain that he is someone who has been gathering experiences and building towardssomething. “The series is about community,” Luna says, as we discuss the connections Cassian forges with people on Ferrix, Aldhani, Mina-Rau, Ghorman, and the Rebel base on Yavin. While he notes that Cassian is “very much a loner,” he underscores the importance of the character’s relationships and the loss of those connections throughout the series.
“If you analyze it — if you put aside the Star Wars universe, if you put aside the political and social climate — and you just think about the journey of each of them in terms of their personal relations. Everything has been taken away from him,” he adds, referencing the events of theSeason 1 finale. “He has to escape because of a decision he makes that puts everyone in danger. Then he comes, and that danger actually happens. He loses everything: he loses his mom and his home. For me, if we put together all those events in five years of my life, I can go, ‘Damn. Oh, my God, how can you go through that?; Obviously, he can go through that because he’s about to do what he does [inRogue One]. Clearly, he’s different. Clearly, he has something I don’t have.” That need for community, however, is one of the common threads between Luna and his character.
Luna’s acting career began when he was just 7 years old — “too young” — but he explains that, for him, acting was a way to be around his dad. “It had nothing to do with the actual experience of acting. To be honest, it was more about the fear of not being a part of my dad’s universe and life.” His mother, costume designerFiona Alexander, died when he was 2 years old, and the theater reminded him of who she was. “Everyone in the theater worked with her in Mexico, so there was a lot of love from the theater community that I received. Somehow, it was a way to be close to my mom and a way to make sure no one was taking my dad away.”
It was a way to be close to my mom.
Luna reflects on his first on-stage production with the National Theater Company, where he was cast because he was one of the few kids allowed to be out every night after 11 PM. “My father, I don’t know if he was cool enough or irresponsible enough to actually let me. But I was doing that with actors that, even today, are still my reference.” It was a performance ofHeinrich von Kleist’sThe Broken Jugthat had the most impact — for more than one reason. “We did that in homage to my mom. I was 16 years old when we started producing that. My father was the set designer, and a wonderful German director who was a very close friend of my mom, called Harold Fleming, from Munich, came to direct the show.”
The production starredDanielGiménez Cacho, who starred inAlfonso Cuarón’s directorial debut,Love in the Time of Hysteria. “It was quite a challenging show, and was very mature and very interesting. It is about a corrupt judge, [and] it was very interesting to play that in Mexico. Also, it was very important for me because they honored my mom’s work. Everyone in the cast knew my mom.”
Producing Taught Luna How To Draw Attention to Those Who Deserve It
After starring in Cuarón’sY tu mamá tambiénopposite his long-time friendGael García Bernal,Luna believed he would return to Mexico and continue his career in theater. Instead, he starred in and producedThe Complete Works of William Shakespeare. As Luna explains, putting together the production taught him “a lot of what I am today and what I do.”
“You don’t want to be the actor waiting for the phone call. You don’t want to be the actor knocking on doors,” Luna wisely advises, noting that after nearly 40 years in the industry, he’s learned to be the actor who makes his own projects. “Theater gives you that freedom. You don’t need the tools you need for film. Actors can be producers easily, because in the end, you just need to be there with someone witnessing it. So, that play was important for me because, since then, I’ve been producing almost everything I do as an actor in theater. Before I started producing cinema, I started producing theater.”
Luna and Bernal went on to found two production companies, Canana Films,which they exited in 2018, and La Corriente del Golfo. Both have been extensions of their shared love for filmmaking and a keen understanding ofwhytelling stories matters.
“For me, it’s important to also draw attention to those who deserve the attention,” Luna explains. “As an actor, you get a lot of attention — sometimes, you don’t deserve it — or sometimes you don’t know what to do with it. Producing gives you a sense of who actually deserves that attention. You meet directors or writers, or you meet with stories that you go, ‘This needs to be out.’ If I can do something about it, then all of this nonsense that sometimes happens around acting becomes useful.”
We commit to perspectives.
The duo also founded Ambulante, a traveling documentary film festival, alongsideElenaFortesandPablo Cruz, with the same ambition in mind: promoting films with a purpose. “That’s the kind of movie I like seeing, when you feel there is that commitment to a point of view. When the commitment is about trying to please everyone, terrible things can happen. So, having a company and making sure we commit to perspectives, and we help these people tell their stories is also very important for us.” Luna readily agrees when I connect this ethos to his theater roots, where a sense of community and the importance of storytelling are central to every production.
“I would take it even further, because, yes, it gives you a sense and an understanding of the strength of community — the importance of not just building a community, but making sure everyone’s there for the same reason. But it’s not just that. Theater reminds you what this is about.” Luna marvels at the communal experience that happens every night with a live audience, which is something film and television lack. There’s an excitement in his voice as he discusses the beauty of theater is the fact that everything is happening to everyone in the room at the very same moment.
“I think that changes the perspective of an actor, director, or even a producer, or a designer. While cinema alienates you from the way people actually receive the story, theater reminds you of that at the crucial moment. That makes you understand that your journey matters if it’s about that. Sometimes, you see people that get lost in their own journey, and I think that comes from theater. It makes me think one way. I always think of myself as part of the audience, too.”
Luna Chases the “Freedom” He Finds on Set
Rogue One: A Star Wars Storymay be the film that made Luna a globally recognized star, but it came 12 years after his breakthrough performance inSteven Spielberg’sThe Terminal. Luna notes that despite the size of the production, it still “represented the perspective and the point of view of a director.” He muses, “I remember back then, we used to divide cinema between ‘studio cinema’ or an ‘independent cinema.’ In that moment, I was doing a huge studio movie that was as independent as any other film I’ve done before, because there was a director behind it. We were all following the lead of someone and the vision of someone, and it was magical to see the freedom.”
Luna is keenly aware of how his journey has been shaped by different people and projects he’s been part of. “I suddenly realized how importantY tu mamá tambiénwas, because I got that jobbecauseofY tu mamá también. I tend to say this a lot, because I think it’s important to remind people wanting to do film: there is no one way to get where you want to get. Or I would say there’s just one way, which is working on things that matter to you, and that will take you to the next stage and the next level.”
He’s also very aware of how his successes have given him freedom that others haven’t found yet. “What happened withY tu mamá también, to me, was a clear example of, if you have the freedom to do projects that are interesting, that take risks, that are complex, that is what’s going to take you far. I had that freedom in Mexico, and that freedom got me to work inThe Terminaland then got me to do work in many other things and to work in Spain and in England. By being there and experiencing that freedom and trying to get the best out of that creative freedom that I found in Mexico is that I managed to achieve many things that today I’m very proud of.”
She’s Been Building Her Own Rebellion for Years — Now, ‘Andor’ Star Adria Arjona Is Ready To Lead
After spending the last four years in a galaxy far, far away, the sky’s the limit for Arjona — even if she’s not ready to say goodbye to ‘Andor.’
In 2010, Luna made his feature film directorial debut withAbel. “It’s about a little kid who one day wakes up and thinks he’s his father, thinks he’s a grown-up,” he explains. “It was such a special moment of my life, also, because I was thinking of directing for many years, but I wasn’t sure of doing it. I didn’t have the courage to do it before.” The drama premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that year and was praised by critics and audiences alike. Luna also recently revisited the film while directing an upcoming feature in Spain and Mexico. Though some may hesitate to look back at their past work, he’s embraced a comment he once heard an Argentinian director share: “There’s so much time between the movies you shoot as a director that you forget everything when you were on set. You say, ‘Oh, this is never happening to me again,’ and then when you’re on set, it happens again because there’s so much time between projects.”
‘Andor’ Became a Full-Circle Moment in Luna’s Journey
All of these ideas and experiences that exist within Luna seem to have coalesced on the set ofAndor. When he signed on to star in the series, he also signed on to executive produce, and it was a responsibility he took seriously. “For me, I guess, because I think as an actor and as a director, being a producer is a tool. You’re there to help, you’re there to elevate, you’re there to potentialize, you’re there to clean the road.”
He’s quite amused when I note that some actors are eager to take the Executive Producer credit without the responsibility that comes with the title. “For me, it’s the opposite. How am I going to be involved with the show for six years if I don’t have an opportunity to see the designs first? If I don’t have an opportunity to hear who’s going to play this other role? If I don’t have an opportunity to be there when they’re planning the campaign and how it’s going to be presented to the audience? It would be a shame.” Luna was heavily involved throughout the pre-production process onAndor, and he stayed in the loop once his focus shifted to acting when filming began.
As the son of a costume designer and a production designer, Luna found himself gravitating toward those same departments onAndor. He stresses how important it was to see the models ofLuke Hull’s locations as they were being designed, and then visiting them once they were built. “Everything has a use. Luke is very specific. The way he builds, everything is usable, everything has a meaning and tells a story.” Luna’s also quite enthusiastic as he discusses the work of the series’ costumer,Michael Wilkinson.
“I am obsessed with costumes and obsessed with his process because nothing is there because it looks cool. Every piece of wardrobe, every prop tells a story.” It’s important for an actor to understand the space around their character, to ensure that they’re not just standing on set, but existing within a fully realized world. “The dialog has to be open, and the opportunity to interact with those designers, when they are thinking of things, is important because then you don’t get to a moment where something is imposed onto you.”
It was like going back to who I am profoundly.
Andor’s sets and costumes weren’t the only aspect of the production that helped to create the sense of realism that has earned the series critical acclaim. “I think that’s the beauty of writing,” Luna says, “for things to feel as realistic as possible, as life is.”
The actor holds nothing back when our conversation turns to the heart and soul of the series: the romance between Cassian and Bix Caleen (Adria Arjona). “They are everything to each other. For me, that relationship is everything. It’s beyond what, at my age, I can call love. This is [his] first friend, the love of his life, the first kiss, the first person who was there when he did something wrong. She’s his home, his country. It is as vast and as rich as possible. That relationship is everything to him. It’s the last thing that connects him with the past. She is basically the only stamp of who he is. There’s no one else. There is no connection like the one they have.”
He’s also willing to share his own thoughts on that beautiful dance of hands between the two characters inSeason 2, Episode 4. “I think that dance says it really nicely. Obviously, if he ever has an opportunity to think for a second about himself, she will be part of that thought. Because there is no him without her.”
Despite howAndorhas been lauded as a hard-hitting political thriller, we both acknowledge that the romantic elements help to underscore why these characters are willing to sacrifice their lives in the name of the Rebellion. “It is a very romantic second season. I mean, Tony is such a sarcastic and sharp guy with so much humor. His vision and critical perspective, but also he brought so much romance, so much love as a center, as a core of most of these characters.”
Luna Is Proof That Everyone Belongs in Star Wars
We dissect so many of the small moments inAndorthat have had a large impact on audiences — like the simplicity of Cassian watering Bix’s plants before he leaves on his last mission inthe series finale. “It means many things,” Luna offers. “It means ‘I understand the need for home. I need to have a home. I’m always going to be taking care of home, whatever that is, whatever that represents.’ Those plants represent Bix and what they build together — but they represent Maarva, too.”
After our interview, he reaches out to ensure thatMaarva’s influenceon this scene is noted, because the moment doubles as a callback to the plants that she kept in their home on Ferrix. “It matters to him because — I’m not afraid of simplifying it — I think it sometimes is as simple as that. He is not ready to join a revolution until he understands what to fight for. And what he has to fight for is the love he has for Bix and for home. A sense of belonging. That’s what gives you strength.”
Luna remarks that playing Cassian has made him see just how far he is from being like the character, at least in that regard. “This is what you do as an actor, if you had to understand profoundly why someone would go so far without any doubt. It’s because he understands what he’s fighting for. So for me, that moment is when you see him, you see a mature man understanding he has to water the plants because that represents making sure their home is healthy [and] is taken care of.Andthe hope of that place still being not just his, but his with her.”
Luna is also eager to discuss reuniting with Tudyk for the final arc of the series. He points out that a long time passed between when Tudyk’s returnwas announced in 2019and when K-2SO actually appeared in Season 2. “Tony was pretty clear [about] when in the story he should come in, and it completely makes sense.” Cassian brings K-2SO back with him after surviving thegenocide on Ghorman, but he doesn’t officially meet the wisecracking droid until the day Bix leaves Cassian behind on Yavin. “He comes in the most complicated and tense moment of the journey, which is even better,” Luna says. “It was beautiful because our lives changed when we didRogue One. In many ways. Alan was working with these very crazy ideas of being a gigantic droid, but at the same time, being a very real character with a very specific and unique personality that had all to do with Alan’s tools as an actor. It was wonderful to work with him, and I missed him so much.”
He is not ready to join a revolution until he understands what to fight for. And what he has to fight for is the love he has for Bix and for home.
Andorutilizes a lot of circular imagery both in its production design and in the cyclical nature of the storytelling — and that same theme is ever-present in our conversation as Luna draws connections between his past and his present. “This whole journey, for me, felt like going back to something that represents me, that is part of me that is very personal.”
For Luna, this sentiment was particularly evident while filmingAndor’s final block of episodes. Tudyk was present for the beginning of his Star Wars journey, when Luna was the actor “coming from afar” and “the one learning lines in a language that is not mine.” He was also present for the end of Luna’s journey with Cassian Andor, where he was being directed by Mexican filmmakerAlonso Ruizpalacios, and a Mexican photographer, both of whom he had known and worked with for over 20 years.
“It was like going back to who I am profoundly,” Luna says. “After 10 years of growing up as a man, as a father, as an actor, it was interesting. It was like witnessing, from another perspective, something that is me. It was very symbolic for me to be working with a Mexican director and a Mexican photographer with a full team of people from many different countries, with all these tools telling this very ambitious and wonderful story.”
That is the community that Luna has cultivated, and the freedom he has bestowed on the next generation of actors looking to the stars. “When I grew up, I didn’t even think it was possible to picture someone looking and sounding like me in this universe.” Not only is it possible now, but it’s been proven that someone like Luna can be the lead of one of the best stories Star Wars has ever delivered.
Andoris now streaming on Disney+.
Photography: Steven Simko |Studio:Ramin Studio |Location: Los Angeles
Prequel series to Star Wars' ‘Rogue One’. In an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue, Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a Rebel hero.
