Multifaceted Diego Luna Is Woke AF
Mexican actor Diego Luna has been featured in numerous articles, most of them talking about his looks, and the success of the movie Rogue One, but there is a lot more to Luna than how handsome he is, and his starring role in the Star Wars franchise.
Long before this coveted role, Diego Luna had already starred in several English language films, Vampires: Los Muertos, Dirty Dancing Havana Nights, The Terminal, Criminal, Milk, Frida alongside Salma Hayek, and most recently, The Book of Life. Luna also directed the indie film Mr. Pig (currently streaming on Netflix.) In reality, his career started years before his first brush with Anglo cinematography.
Back in his native Mexico, Luna got his start as a child actor in some of the most popular novelas of the early 90’s; his first one was in 1992’s El Abuelo y Yo. It was during his acting in this novela, where he developed his friendship with Gael García Bernal. Luna also starred in 1995’s El Premio Mayor which became a cultural phenomenon in Mexico. As a movie actor, he starred in Y Tu Mamá También, and Rudo y Cursi, both alongside Gael García Bernal. Y Tu Mamá También was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and for Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes.
Luna’s career in film and TV surpasses that of an actor. In 2014, he produced and directed César Chávez. The film was distributed by Pantelion Films, the current leader in bringing Mexican films to the United States (Filly Brown, Instructions Not Included, Pulling Strings, and most recently, Everybody Loves Somebody.) Luna is also one of the founders (along with Gael García Bernal) of Ambulante, an organization that strives to bring documentaries to areas of Mexico where there is not enough distribution of said films. Ambulante also produces a film festival, it offers scholarships to up-and-coming filmmakers, and it works with the Mexican Senate to bring awareness of the importance of documentaries. Ambulante is also global and has brought films to several countries around the world, United States, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Spain, Guatemala, England, Nicaragua, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, and Kosovo.
Besides his work as an actor, and producer, Luna is also an activist. He has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, and his vile comments towards Mexicans and immigrants. A few weeks ago Luna and other filmmakers took to the remnant of the Berlin Wall where they spoke against Trump and his policies, and how crucial the “Resistance” movement had become not just in the United States, but around the world. “The world is asking you to have an opinion and get involved, not just us in cinema, but whatever you do, we’re citizens first and then professionals… as citizens of this world, we have to worry” said Luna while speaking to the International Press.
Expect Diego Luna to continue being outspoken against Trump and his outrageous claims; he surely will use his massive platform to help the Resistance and vouch for his fellow Mexican paisanos. His extensive previous work in Mexico, and his current activism against everything Trump is what the Anglo world has ignored about multi-faceted Diego Luna.