GQ Mexico

November 2007

2007 Men of the Year

Diego Luna – Actor

He began his career at the age of 11 and at 28 not only is he an actor of international relevancy, but he’s begun a career as director, producer and activist. He is known for playing adolescent roles, as in Y tu mamá también, the film by Alfonso Cuarón that catapulted him to fame in 2001. Diego Luna is showing signs of maturing, something that he appreciates in the handling of his public image: “I have a theory that when there is so much attention towards you, you have the responsibility of deflecting this attention where you think it should be.”

His first work [as director], JC Chávez, is a parallelism between the career of the controversial boxer and a contemporary Mexican story. It premiered at the Tribeca Festival in New York, and according to his words, it has been one of the most exciting times of his life. Among other things because a breakdown of the projector was on the verge of throwing everything overboard.

He went to the Venice and Toronto Festivals to promote Cochochi, the drama of two Tarahumara brothers, the 8^th movie produced by Canana Films, the company that he started with his dear friend, Gael García. Incidentally during the Canadian festival he showed Mister Lonely, a movie by Harmony Korine where he personifies a Michael Jackson impersonator, which will be released in Mexico next year.

Luna has been involved with pro-human rights organizations such as Witness – which fights to end the impunity in the case of the women of Juárez – and with institutions like La Casa de la Sal, that attends to children with HIV. In the same way, the protagonist of The Night Buffalo – another of his 2007 premieres – submitted to a shower of beans as part of a campaign for the Oxfam organization for fair trade.

The bean shower preceded his new movie, Rudo y Cursi, where he shares credits with Gael. If someone thinks a rivalry exists between both actors, you will have to see this drama about two soccer playing brothers, filmed on location in Colima and the Federal District [Mexico City]. We’ll see who’s who at the hour of penalty kicks.

Translated by Heather~