Join us for a 90-minute Career Retrospective with Diego Luna.
PANELIST BIO
DIEGO LUNA is an internationally acclaimed actor, director, and producer whose work over the past two decades – in his native Mexico, in Hollywood, and globally – has cemented him as one of his generation’s most influential artists. Luna is the voice of Chip in the upcoming Warner Bros. animated superhero comedy, “DC League of Super Pets,” releasing July 29, 2022. Based on the DC Comics superhero team Legion of SuperPets, the film follows a team of shelter pets with superpowers who work together to save the Justice League after they’ve been captured. In 2018, Luna co-founded the production company, La Corriente del Golfo, with friend and collaborator Gael Garcia Bernal, where they develop and produce film, television, theater and podcasts. The company is named after the Gulf Stream, evoking the Gulf of Mexico as it flows to the North Atlantic, reflecting the duo’s aim to bring Mexican stories and talent to the world at large. Recent projects include the Netflix series, “Todo va a estar bien,” which Luna created, and “Pan y circo,” which he also hosts, winning a 2021 Daytime Emmy Award® for this docuseries that brings together diverse voices in conversation over meals crafted by Mexican chefs.
Luna was introduced to worldwide audiences with his starring role in Alfonso Cuaron’s 2001 award-winning road epic “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” alongside Gael Garcia Bernal. A lifelong artist, he began his professional acting career on stage at the age of seven and made his television debut at age twelve.
His varied filmography also includes Barry Jenkins’s “If Beale Street Could Talk”; Gus Van Sant’s “Milk” starring Sean Penn; Steven Spielberg’s “The Terminal” opposite Tom Hanks; Julian Schnabel’s “Before Night Falls” starring Javier Bardem; Neill Blomkamp’s “Elysium” alongside Matt Damon; Julie Taymor’s “Frida” alongside Salma Hayek; Sony’s “Flatliners” remake opposite Elliot Page; “Contraband” starring Mark Wahlberg; Harmony Korine’s “Mister Lonely”; the voice of Manolo in the animated feature “The Book of Life”; Luis Estrada’s “Ambar”; Marisa Sistach’s “El Cometa”; ”Criminal” for Stephen Soderbergh and George Clooney’s Section Eight Productions; David Trueba’s “Soldados De Salamina”; “Solo Dios Sabe” (What God Knows); the final season of Guillermo del Toro’s “Trollhunters” from DreamWorks; and the starring role in Netflix’s hit series “Narcos: Mexico,” among countless others. He also starred in Javier Bourges’s Oscar®-winning short film, “El Ultimo Fin Del Año.”
As a filmmaker, in 2014 Luna made his English language directorial feature debut with “Cesar Chavez,” starring Michael Peña, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, and John Malkovich. The film won the coveted Audience Award at SXSW. In 2007, he directed the documentary “J.C. Chavez” about the legendary Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. He directed “Mr. Pig,” which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival starring Danny Glover and Maya Rudolph. He also directed, wrote, and produced the feature film “Abel,” a heart-warming story about a peculiar young boy who returns home to assume the role of the family man, but soon learns that his actions start to have a positive impact on the family and their unity. The film premiered as part of the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival and received an Arieles Award for Best Screenplay. In addition, he directed one of ten short films that composed the anthology feature, “Revolución.”
Luna is also an award-winning stage actor, appearing in such theater productions as “De Pelicula”; “La Tarea” (based on Jame Hurnberto Hermosillo’s film of the same name); Sabina Berman’s translation of “Moliere”; John Malkovich’s play, ”The Good Canary”; and in Mexico City in the multimedia production “Privacidad”. He has twice won awards from the Association of Theatre Reviewers for Masculine Revelation Award for his work in “Comedia Clandestina” and “El Cantaro”; and for Best Comic Actor for “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare,” which he starred in and produced in an acclaimed production in Mexico. Most recently in May 2022, he starred in a production of the monologue play, “Cada vez nos despedimos mejor,” at the famed Naves del Español in Madrid.
All attendees must bring proof of full COVID-19 Vaccination. Masks are recommended but not required.
SAG-AFTRA members and guests invited to events will behave in a professional and courteous manner. Any violation of the rules or transgression of decorum will be subject to review by the programming team, which has authority to remove the member from present and future SAG-AFTRA Foundation programs.
