TOP Magazzine - 8 March 2009
Diego Luna: Flies Away

Anyone can criticize. Diego Luna has made that clear. But not anyone can do something constructive that helps the development of artists that are put under the magnifying glass. For this reason, as the protagonist of the play The Good Canary, the important thing is what the public thinks, more than the opinion of the specialists.

It is exactly this setting on stage the critics use as the trigger for the people involved, since in the development of the plot the critics and their work turn into a kind of constant character.

Diego thinks the criticism in Mexico is more specialized, although he thinks it’s necessary to leave behind that which is destructive and concentrate on what helps to grow.

“Before presenting my work, I always show it to my father, my friends and the people that I admire. But for me, the most important thing is how the public receives it and that is the link that I am most interested in to take care in my career.”

Since its premiere the play aroused grand expectations in the public for the direction by John Malkovich, the multimedia scenery and the cast which includes Luna, Daniel Giménez Cacho and Irene Azuela.

The public’s response erupted. It is calculated that on having finished the performances, the play will have exceeded 110,000 spectators.

“To dedicate all your time and effort to a project makes you value your own work. After this season I understand that there is an eager public for performances of this quality, to be questioned and moved,” he affirms.

Jack Parker (played by Luna) is a novelist whose wife (Azuela) consumes amphetamines. From them a story is interwoven that talks about love, relationships and addiction, among other topics, that, as a whole, allows the public to leave the play reflecting and on occasion, very affected.

The construction of the character involved the actor continuously reading “The Plot of Fools” by John Kennedy Toole, long conversations with Malkovich and realizing pertinent changes that the evolution that Parker demanded day by day.

“I agree with Jack on some things. I love life a lot and I think the most comforting thing that can happen to a human being is knowing that you make another person happy,” expressed the actor.

“I believe that without love nothing has meaning. However, sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you love. If you are not ready, love is probably not enough.”

He currently does not have any new projects for theater, but the film Milk will soon be released in Mexico, where he acts alongside Oscar winner Sean Penn, and Mister Lonely, under the direction of Harmony Korine. Meanwhile the movie Rudo y Cursi will screen in the United States.

“When the play ends I want to give myself a breath and prepare a new project of quality. I want time for me. I’m a very dedicated father. Parenthood changes you for the good in everything that you do in life, because everything has a new meaning. It is the purest love that exists, so obviously, you are different.”

Translated by Heather