Diego Luna
Encyclopedia
Diego Luna is a Mexican actor known for his childhood telenovela
work, a starring role in the film Y tu mamá también
, and supporting roles in American films. He is also known for his roles in Rudo y Cursi
and Milk
. Luna also had minor roles in Frida
and Before Night Falls
. He also provides Spanish language
narration for the National Geographic Channel documentary Great Migrations
.
; the son of Fiona Alexander, an English costume designer, and Alejandro Luna
, a Mexican set designer who is one of the most acclaimed living theatre, cinema and opera set designer
s in Mexico. His mother died in a car accident when he was two years old. She had worked in the film industry and had made sure that this was a life Luna would be immersed in. His father also reinforced the importance of theater and the arts in his life. In Luna's youth, he would bring him to the sets and mentor him in all different aspects of his art, furthering his desire to become an actor and uphold a family tradition.
Luna wed Mexican actress Camila Sodi
on February 5, 2008 and their son Jerónimo was born in Los Angeles on August 9, 2008. They welcomed daughter Fiona
, named after Luna's late mother, on July 1, 2010 in Mexico City
.
El Abuelo y Yo (1992) alongside his childhood best friend, Gael García Bernal
, in 1995 he played the role of Laura León
son in the Mexican soap opera El premio mayor. Luna had his big break in 2001 when he was cast in the critically acclaimed Y tu mamá también
, once again alongside García Bernal.
He is currently making a name for himself in the United States market, having starred alongside Bon Jovi
in Vampires: Los Muertos (2002) and the Academy Award
-winning Frida
(2002). He was also in the western Open Range
, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
, The Terminal
, and Criminal
. In 2008, he appeared in the Harvey Milk
biopic Milk
playing Milk's emotionally unstable lover Jack Lira.
Luna and Gael García Bernal
own Canana Productions. The company recently joined with Golden Phoenix Productions owned by producer Tom Golden of Hot Springs, Arkansas
, to jointly produce a number of television documentaries about the unsolved murders of more than 300 women in the border city of Ciudad Juárez
. For the third time Luna reunites with fellow friend Gael García Bernal
, this time in the American Spanish-language comedy film Casa de Mi Padre
opposite Will Ferrell
.
In 2011, Luna played the male lead in Katy Perry
's music video, The One That Got Away
.
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
work, a starring role in the film Y tu mamá también
Y tu mamá también
Y tu mamá también is a 2001 Mexican comedy-drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and co-written by Cuarón and his brother Carlos. The film is a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys taking a road trip with a woman in her late twenties; it stars Mexican actors Diego Luna and Gael García...
, and supporting roles in American films. He is also known for his roles in Rudo y Cursi
Rudo y Cursi
Rudo y Cursi is a 2008 Mexican film starring Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal and Guillermo Francella. It is directed by Carlos Cuarón and produced by Cha Cha Cha Films...
and Milk
Milk (film)
Milk is a 2008 American biographical film on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
. Luna also had minor roles in Frida
Frida
Frida is a 2002 biographical film which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. It stars Salma Hayek in her Academy Award nominated portrayal as Kahlo and Alfred Molina as her husband, Diego Rivera....
and Before Night Falls
Before Night Falls (film)
Before Night Falls is a 2000 film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay is based on the autobiography of the same name of Reinaldo Arenas, which was published in English in 1993. The screenplay was written by Schnabel, Cunningham O'Keefe, and Lázaro Gómez Carriles...
. He also provides Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
narration for the National Geographic Channel documentary Great Migrations
Great Migrations
Great Migrations is a seven-episode nature documentary television miniseries that airs on the National Geographic Channel, featuring the great migrations of animals across the globe. This is truly one of the greatest pieces of nature documentary there is. The producer, David Hamlin, has won 3...
.
Personal life
Luna was born Diego Luna Alexander in Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
; the son of Fiona Alexander, an English costume designer, and Alejandro Luna
Alejandro Luna
José Alejandro Dionisio Luna Ledesma is a Mexican scenic designer and lighting technician.- Biography :Luna was born in Mexico City, where he passed his studies of architecture. He works at theater, opera and for TV and cinema productions...
, a Mexican set designer who is one of the most acclaimed living theatre, cinema and opera set designer
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
s in Mexico. His mother died in a car accident when he was two years old. She had worked in the film industry and had made sure that this was a life Luna would be immersed in. His father also reinforced the importance of theater and the arts in his life. In Luna's youth, he would bring him to the sets and mentor him in all different aspects of his art, furthering his desire to become an actor and uphold a family tradition.
Luna wed Mexican actress Camila Sodi
Camila Sodi
Camila González Sodi is a Mexican actress and model. She is the niece of actress and singer Thalía and part of the Sodi family.- Biography :...
on February 5, 2008 and their son Jerónimo was born in Los Angeles on August 9, 2008. They welcomed daughter Fiona
Fiona
Fiona is a feminine given name. The name Fiona was invented, and first used, by the Scottish poet James Macpherson , author of the Ossian poems, which he claimed were translations from ancient Gaelic sources...
, named after Luna's late mother, on July 1, 2010 in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.
Career
From an early age, Luna began acting in television, film, and theatre. His first television role was in the 1991 movie El Último Fin de Año. His next role was in the telenovelaTelenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
El Abuelo y Yo (1992) alongside his childhood best friend, Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
, in 1995 he played the role of Laura León
Laura León
Rebeca Valderrama , better known by her stage name Laura León, is a Mexican actress and singer. She is often referred to as "La Tesorito" since that is a term of endearment she uses for people. León resided for many years in Mexico City where she starred in several telenovelas for Televisa...
son in the Mexican soap opera El premio mayor. Luna had his big break in 2001 when he was cast in the critically acclaimed Y tu mamá también
Y tu mamá también
Y tu mamá también is a 2001 Mexican comedy-drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and co-written by Cuarón and his brother Carlos. The film is a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys taking a road trip with a woman in her late twenties; it stars Mexican actors Diego Luna and Gael García...
, once again alongside García Bernal.
He is currently making a name for himself in the United States market, having starred alongside Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
in Vampires: Los Muertos (2002) and the Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-winning Frida
Frida
Frida is a 2002 biographical film which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. It stars Salma Hayek in her Academy Award nominated portrayal as Kahlo and Alfred Molina as her husband, Diego Rivera....
(2002). He was also in the western Open Range
Open Range
Open Range is a 2003 American Western film co-starring, co-produced, and directed by Kevin Costner, based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine. Starring alongside Costner are Robert Duvall, Annette Bening, and Michael Gambon....
, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
# "Dance Like This" - Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz # "Dirty Dancing" - The Black Eyed Peas# "Guajira " - Yerba Buena# "Can I Walk By" - Jazze Pha featuring Monica# "Satellite " - Santana featuring Jorge Moreno...
, The Terminal
The Terminal
The Terminal is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is about a man trapped in a terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot...
, and Criminal
Criminal (film)
Criminal is a 2004 American film based upon the Argentine film Nine Queens. Directed by Gregory Jacobs, it stars John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Maeve Quinlan and is a production of Section Eight, the production company of Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney.-Plot:John C. Reilly...
. In 2008, he appeared in the Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
biopic Milk
Milk (film)
Milk is a 2008 American biographical film on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
playing Milk's emotionally unstable lover Jack Lira.
Luna and Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
own Canana Productions. The company recently joined with Golden Phoenix Productions owned by producer Tom Golden of Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
, to jointly produce a number of television documentaries about the unsolved murders of more than 300 women in the border city of Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
. For the third time Luna reunites with fellow friend Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal is a Mexican film actor and director.-Early life:García Bernal was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, the son of Patricia Bernal, an actress and former model, and José Ángel García, an actor and director. His stepfather is Sergio Yazbek, whom his mother married when García Bernal was...
, this time in the American Spanish-language comedy film Casa de Mi Padre
Casa de Mi Padre
Casa de Mi Padre , previously titled Untitled Spanish Comedy, is an upcoming Spanish-language American comedy film. The film stars Will Ferrell, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna and Génesis Rodríguez with Matt Piedmont directing...
opposite Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
.
In 2011, Luna played the male lead in Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
's music video, The One That Got Away
The One That Got Away (Katy Perry song)
"The One That Got Away" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Katy Perry. The song was written by Perry, Dr. Luke, and Max Martin. The latter two produced the song for Perry's third studio album, Teenage Dream . The song is a mid-tempo pop ballad about a lost love...
.
Director
- Abel (2010)
- J.C. Chávez (2007)
Films
- ElysiumElysium (film)Elysium is an upcoming 2013 American science fiction film written and directed by Neill Blomkamp. The film stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, and Wagner Moura. Elysium is scheduled to be released on , 2013.-Premise:...
(2013) - ContrabandContraband (2012 film)Contraband is an upcoming American action thriller film directed by Baltasar Kormákur, starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale. The film is a remake of the Icelandic 2009 film Reykjavík-Rotterdam which Kormákur starred in...
(2012) - Casa de Mi PadreCasa de Mi PadreCasa de Mi Padre , previously titled Untitled Spanish Comedy, is an upcoming Spanish-language American comedy film. The film stars Will Ferrell, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna and Génesis Rodríguez with Matt Piedmont directing...
(2011) - In the Playground (2010, pre-production)
- Sólo quiero caminar (2009)
- MilkMilk (film)Milk is a 2008 American biographical film on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
(2008) - Rudo y CursiRudo y CursiRudo y Cursi is a 2008 Mexican film starring Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal and Guillermo Francella. It is directed by Carlos Cuarón and produced by Cha Cha Cha Films...
(2008) - Mister LonelyMister LonelyMister Lonely is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Harmony Korine, and co-written with his brother Avi Korine.-Plot:A young American man living in Paris scratches out a living as a Michael Jackson look-alike, dancing on the streets, public parks, tourist spots and trade shows. During a show in...
(2007) - El Búfalo de la NocheEl Búfalo de la Noche (film)El Búfalo de la Noche is a 2007 film directed by Jorge Hernandez Aldana and based on the novel by the same name written by Guillermo Arriaga. It is based on the novel by Guillermo Arriaga and stars Diego Luna. It was released in Mexico on August 17, 2007. The U.S...
(2007) - JC Chávez (directorial debut, 2007)
- Toto (2006)
- Fade to BlackFade to Black (2006 film)Fade to Black is a 2006 thriller film directed by Oliver Parker and starring Danny Huston as Orson Welles.-Synopsis:The year is 1948. His Hollywood career deadlocked, Orson Welles is in need to get over his failed marriage to Rita Hayworth...
(2006) - Sólo Dios Sabe (2005)
- Amapola (2005)
- CriminalCriminal (film)Criminal is a 2004 American film based upon the Argentine film Nine Queens. Directed by Gregory Jacobs, it stars John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Maeve Quinlan and is a production of Section Eight, the production company of Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney.-Plot:John C. Reilly...
(2004) - The TerminalThe TerminalThe Terminal is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is about a man trapped in a terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot...
(2004) - Dirty Dancing: Havana NightsDirty Dancing: Havana Nights# "Dance Like This" - Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz # "Dirty Dancing" - The Black Eyed Peas# "Guajira " - Yerba Buena# "Can I Walk By" - Jazze Pha featuring Monica# "Satellite " - Santana featuring Jorge Moreno...
(2004) - NicotinaNicotinaNicotina is a six-time Ariel Award winning and six-time nominated 2003 Mexican - Argentine gangster film directed by Hugo Rodríguez. The film is about a computer geek who becomes involved with the Russian mafia....
(2003) - Open RangeOpen RangeOpen Range is a 2003 American Western film co-starring, co-produced, and directed by Kevin Costner, based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine. Starring alongside Costner are Robert Duvall, Annette Bening, and Michael Gambon....
(2003) - Carambola (2003)
- Soldados de Salamina (2003)
- Vampires: Los MuertosVampires: Los MuertosVampires : Los Muertos is a 2002 sequel to John Carpenter's Vampires starring Jon Bon Jovi in the role of a vampire hunter. The film is not a direct sequel but takes place within the same universe as the first film. This film is produced by John Carpenter. Cristián de la Fuente and Natasha Gregson...
(2002) - FridaFridaFrida is a 2002 biographical film which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. It stars Salma Hayek in her Academy Award nominated portrayal as Kahlo and Alfred Molina as her husband, Diego Rivera....
(2002) - Ciudades Oscuras (2002)
- Todos los Aviones del Mundo (2001)
- Atlético San Pancho (2001)
- Y tu mamá tambiénY tu mamá tambiénY tu mamá también is a 2001 Mexican comedy-drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and co-written by Cuarón and his brother Carlos. The film is a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys taking a road trip with a woman in her late twenties; it stars Mexican actors Diego Luna and Gael García...
(2001) - Before Night FallsBefore Night Falls (film)Before Night Falls is a 2000 film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay is based on the autobiography of the same name of Reinaldo Arenas, which was published in English in 1993. The screenplay was written by Schnabel, Cunningham O'Keefe, and Lázaro Gómez Carriles...
(2000) - Todo el Poder (1999)
- Un Dulce Olor a Muerte (1999)
- El Cometa (1999)
- Un Hilito de Sangre (1995)
- Morena (1995)
- Ámbar (1994)
- El Último Fin de Año (1991)
- AntonietaAntonietaAntonieta is a 1982 film by Spanish director Carlos Saura, starring Isabelle Adjani and Hanna Schygulla. The film, a Mexican-Spanish French co production, was based on a novel by Andrés Henestrosa...
(1982)
Soap operas
- La Vida en el Espejo (1999)
- El Amor de mi Vida (1998)
- El Premio Mayor (1995)
- El Abuelo y Yo (1992)