Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (Spanish: [ˈdjeɣo ˈluna aleɣˈsandeɾ]; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in Rogue One (2016) and its prequel series Andor (2022–2025), for which he was nominated twice for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.
Following an early career in Mexican telenovelas, Luna had his breakthrough in the critically acclaimed 2001 film Y tu mamá también. During the 2000s, he appeared in both Mexican and American films including Frida, Open Range, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, The Terminal, Criminal, Milk, Sólo quiero caminar, and Rudo y Cursi. In the 2010s, his films included the science fiction Elysium, comedy Casa de mi Padre, and the animated musical The Book of Life. From 2018 to 2020, he starred as the drug trafficker Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo in Narcos: Mexico.
Luna has appeared in numerous Mexican theater productions and produced both film and television projects, many with Gael García Bernal. Since 2010, he has directed three feature films: Abel, Cesar Chavez, and Mr. Pig. He is the creator and director of the 2013 Fusion TV docu-series Back Home, the Amazon Studios talk show Pan y Circo, which premiered in 2020, and the 2021 Netflix scripted series Everything Will Be Fine. In 2025, Time magazine listed Luna as one of the world's 100 most influential people.
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Early life
Luna was born in Toluca and raised in Mexico City. His mother, Fiona Alexander, was a British costume designer of Scottish and English descent. She died in a car accident when Luna was two years old. His father, Alejandro Luna, was a theater, film, and opera set designer. He has an older sister. Luna and his frequent co-star Gael García Bernal have known each other since infancy, as their mothers were friends. They spent time together as young children and developed a close friendship growing up. In 1994, Luna participated in youth-led activism in support of Indigenous rights during the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas. Alongside classmates, he helped organize protests, fundraisers, and food drives in response to the movement.
Career
Acting
Luna acted in his first play at age seven. As a child actor, he appeared in several telenovelas and films. In 1992, he had story arcs on Televisa's El abuelo y yo and Ángeles sin paraíso. As a teenager, Luna was part of the main casts of El premio mayor (1995–1996) and La vida en el espejo (1999–2000), playing the main characters' son; he also starred in the films Un hilito de sangre (A Trickle of Blood; 1995), El cometa (The Comet; 1999), and Un dulce olor a muerte (A Sweet Scent of Death; 1995), all which made him a teen star. He had small roles in the films Todo el poder (Gimme the Power; 2000) and Before Night Falls (2000).
Luna starred as Tenoch Iturbide alongside Gael García Bernal in Y tu mamá también (2001), a Mexican road trip film directed by Alfonso Cuarón. A critical and box office success, the role brought him international stardom. The film was the beginning of a series of high-profile collaborations with childhood friend García Bernal, with whom he would costar in several films and go on to establish Canana Films. For these roles and others, the two are considered to be faces of the Nuevo Cine Mexicano film movement.
In the following two years, Luna acted in Mexican films along with English-language productions like the miniseries Fidel, Vampires: Los Muertos, the Kevin Costner western Open Range, and the Academy Award-winning Frida. He starred in the 2003 film Nicotina, which was critically and commercially successful in Mexico. 2004 was a significant year for Luna as he starred in Steven Spielberg's The Terminal alongside Tom Hanks, the film Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (a Cuban-based reimagining of Dirty Dancing), and the indie crime film Criminal alongside John C. Reilly. He subsequently had starring roles in the films Fade to Black (2006) and Harmony Korine's Mister Lonely (2007), and also appeared in the critically acclaimed biopic Milk (2008). In Spanish-language film, he starred in Sólo Dios sabe opposite Alice Braga (Only God Knows; 2006), crime thriller Solo quiero caminar (Walking Vengeance; 2008)—for which he was nominated for a Goya Award—and the soccer comedy Rudo y Cursi (2008), one of the highest grossing Mexican films of all time.
In the early 2010s, Luna co-starred in the Will Ferrell Spanish-language comedy Casa de mi Padre (2012) and appeared in the action films Contraband and Elysium. He appeared opposite Katy Perry in her music video for "The One That Got Away;" as of 2024, the music video has over 1 billion views on YouTube. He starred in the animated musical comedy The Book of Life (2014) whose soundtrack charted in numerous countries. In 2015, the pilot episode of the Amazon Studios series Casanova, in which Luna stars as Giacomo Casanova. The show was not picked up to series.
Producing and directing
With frequent collaborator Gael García Bernal and producer Pablo Cruz, Luna created the production company Canana Films in 2005. Together, they have produced dozens of Mexican film and television productions. Notably, they executive produced the 2009 Cary Fukunaga film Sin nombre, which was honored by the Sundance Film Festival and Independent Spirit Awards, the 2011 thriller Miss Bala which was submitted as Mexico's foreign-language Oscar submission, and the 2015 drama The Chosen Ones. In 2015, Luna and Cruz launched the branded entertainment studio Gloria for Latin American talent.
Luna and García Bernal departed Canana in 2018, subsequently founding a new production company, La Corriente del Golfo. In October 2019, it was announced that Luna and García Bernal were joining the Creative Advisory Board for the TV and film development company EXILE Content. In 2020, they signed a first-look deal with Amazon Studios.
In 2007, Luna directed his first film, a documentary about Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez. His first feature film, a dramedy titled Abel, premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews.
In 2012, Luna directed the biopic Cesar Chávez; the film starred Michael Peña as Cesar Chávez, the founder of the United Farm Workers, America Ferrera, and Rosario Dawson. The film premiered at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival and was awarded an Audience Award for Narrative Feature at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival. The film received mixed reviews. The following year, he created and directed the docu-series Back Home, which follows celebrity guests on a journey to their family homelands. The show was broadcast on Fusion TV.
His next feature film was Mr. Pig, also known as Sr. Pig, which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Danny Glover and Maya Rudolph whose characters travel on a road trip through Mexico.
It was announced in 2019 that Luna and García Bernal would executive produce an epic miniseries Cortes for Amazon starring Javier Bardem as conquistador Hernán Cortés, then described as "the largest Spanish-language production of all time." Two weeks into production in 2020, the production was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other work
Luna, García Bernal, and Elena Fortes co-founded Ambulante, also known as the Ambulante Documentary Film Festival, an organization and film festival whose mission is for documentary films to be used as tools for transformation. The organization received the prestigious Washington Office on Latin America's Human Rights Award in 2011. In January 2015, Luna narrated a video of theirs about the obstacles faced by children migrating from their home countries and seeking refuge in the U.S.
Luna was a repeat host of the 2000s-era MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica, hosting in 2002, 2003, and 2007; he presented an award at the 2006 ceremony. In 2004, he co-hosted the 18th Goya Awards with Cayetana Guillén Cuervo. He has also presented at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards, Premio Lo Nuestro 2014, 2014 MTV Fandom Awards, 74th Golden Globe Awards, 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards, 91st Academy Awards, and 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Luna was a jury member at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. He was a member of the 2016 jury for the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. In 2017, he was part of the International Jury at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.
Personal life
Luna married Camila Sodi in February 2008; they divorced in March 2013. They have two children: Jerónimo (b. 12 August 2008), and Fiona (b. 1 July 2010), named after Luna's mother. Since 2019, he has been in a relationship with Marina de Tavira; they made their first public appearance together in 2021.
Luna previously resided in Los Angeles; since 2017, he and his family have lived in Mexico City.
Filmography
Theater
Selected credits
El Cantaro Roto (1996)
Festen (2006–2007) – Teatro Helénico
The Good Canary / El buen canario (2008–2009) – Teatro de los Insurgentes
Howl (2012) – Teatro Helénico
Cada vez nos despedimos mejor (2013, 2014) – Teatro de la Sala Chopin
Privacy (2017–2018) – Teatro de los Insurgentes
Cada vez nos despedimos mejor (2022) – Las Naves del Español, Madrid