Diego Luna is the title character in one of the most acclaimed TV series of recent years with “Andor” – not to mention that the show created by Tony Gilroy is one of the most acclaimed “Star Wars” projects in the history of the franchise.
But that doesn’t mean Luna isn’t still getting roles as drug dealers. Fortunately, though, his years with “Star Wars” dating back to 2016’s “Rogue One” have meant that drug dealers aren’t the only type of role he’s offered.
“Before ‘Star Wars,’ the only projects I would get would be drug dealers,” Luna told The Hollywood Reporter as part of his theater acting gig. “And then I could be the good drug dealer and not the mean one, but still a drug dealer. Because the system wasn’t sending messages of, like, ‘Yeah, you can find a way to be yourself and still work on those projects that you’re looking at and hoping to see yourself reflected in.’ But I think that’s changed, and the middleman between the audience and us is no longer there. People just click now, and all of a sudden it’s like, ‘Oh shit, they’re watching a Mexican show.’ You can be as far away from the system as you can possibly be, and the system will look for you if there’s a need to hear your story.”
But to clarify, Luna added, “Oh, I still have a lot of drug dealers. It’s just that I’m not looking for what they want me to play. I can look for the things I want to do. It’s that freedom that comes with understanding that people today care about specificity.”
Luna played the “boss of all bosses” and Guadalajara cartel founder Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo for two seasons of “Narcos: Mexico” from 2018 to 2020. The actor also recalled how often he would be told to lose his Mexican accent to play a wider variety of roles before.
“I remember being asked, ‘Are you going to clean up your accent?’ That’s not part of the conversation anymore. And you say, ‘Why would I want to do that?
Thankfully, the powers that be at Lucasfilm agreed. Hearing a Mexican accent from a member of the Rebel Alliance in Rogue One was quietly revolutionary in its own way. Sometimes, leaning more into who you are can bring greater specificity and depth to a character. And Time Magazine certainly agreed recently, when they named Luna their Time 100.
