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Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander was born
in
Mexico City
on December 29, 1979.
His English born mother, Fiona Alexander, died he was just two years old. Diego began acting at
a young age
and became involved in theatre as a way to be close to his father,
Alejandro Luna.
Diego says, “I started doing theater when I
was 7. My father is a set designer
and worked for the National Theatre Company. He’s the biggest set
designer
in Mexico and because my mother was killed in a car accident when I
was 2,
he had to take me to every rehearsal.”
Diego’s first stage appearance was
in the play De Pelicula. He says, “Initially
my dad did not like the idea much, but he gave
me the chance and I’ve been doing it
ever since.”
He had his
first
television role in the 1991 movie El último fin de año
(The Last New Year). In 1992 he played a role in the
telenovela
El abuelo
y yo (Grandfather and Me) alongside his childhood best
friend,Gael
García Bernal. This
led to roles in other Mexican soaps; El Premio Mayor, El Amor De Mi Vida and La Vida En El Espejo.
Diego
has also performed in several theatre productions, such as De Pelicula, Comedia Clandtina, and El Cantaro Roto,
for which he won the 1996-1997 “Masculine Revelation Award”
from the Association of Theatre Reviewers. He appeared in Sabina
Berman’s Moliere and has produced The Complete Works of
William
Shakespeare in Mexico for which he received the 2001-2002 “Best
Comic
Actor” award from the Association of Theatre Reviewers.
Early
on in his career Diego appeared in several Mexican
films, such as Un
Dulce olor a
muerte, Todo el poder,
and El Cometa.
His big break came when he was cast to play the role of Tenoch
Iturbide
in
Y tu mamá
también (And Your Mother Too).
Fortunately Luna is not shy about starring in controversial movies, as the plot of this
movie centers
on two hormone-fueled teenage boys (Luna and Gael García)
that go
on a road trip with a sexy older woman (Maribel Verdú). Released in
2001,
this film drew controversy for its sexuality and raw content. Not
only was it
the all time #1 selling box-office movie in Mexico, it woke the rest of the
world up to Mexican cinema.
Luna
says, “I was able to work in that movie with one of my best friends and I got the chance to work with Mexican
director Alfonso Cuarón. This opened the door for us to present our work outside of
Mexico at
important film festivals. It even helped me get an agent in the
United States!
But the truth is, many people don’t realize that the movie was so
much fun to
make. It helped me gain a lot of confidence as an actor.”
Diego has gone on to star in many
popular films, in Spanish and English,
creating a name for himself in the international film industry. Some of his other films
include:
Frida,
Open Range,
Nicotina,
Dirty Dancing:
Havana Nights,
The Terminal,
Criminal,
Sólo Dios sabe,
Rudo y Cursi and Milk. |
