Diego Luna

Before taking on the role of Tenoch in the Mexican blockbuster "Y tu mama tambien", nineteen-year-old Diego Luna was already a soap star his native country. After his mother's death, young Diego yearned to follow his father's footsteps into the entertainment business. A set designer on films, his father Alejando worked on set with director Alfonso Cuaron when Diego was just seven. Though Diego would eventually work for Cuaron himself as the co-star of "Y Tu Mama Tambien", the young actor would build up a strong acting resume on his own. At age six, Luna took on his first acting role in the stage play "De Pelicula" and by age thirteen he had landed the role of Luis in the television soap opera "El Abuelo Y Yo." The soap also starred "Y tu mama" co-star Gael Garcia Bernal and the two quickly became best of friends. In 1995, Luna appeared in his first feature film, "Un Hilito de Sangre", starring as Leon, a 14 year-old who follows his dream woman to Guadalajara, leaving behind his small world at home. Six years later, Luna would again play a boy on his way from adolescence to manhood in the sexually charged road movie, "Y Tu Mama Tambien" with his pal Gael Garcia Bernal for director Alfonso Cuaron. The natural chemistry between the two lifelong friends breathed vitality and authenticity into the coming of age drama about two hormone driven teens who embark on a journey of self discovery with the attractive wife of Tenoch's cousin. The film was a hit in native Mexico and has earned numerous critical awards in America, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film. Luna and Bernal also shared the prestigious Mastroianni Prize for Best Young Actor at the 2001 Venice Film Festival for their performances. Capturing the attention of U.S. filmmakers, Luna then landed a small role alongside Salma Hayek in "Frida" (2002) and appeared in Kevin Costner's directorial debut, the western "Open Range" (2003), then emerged as the star of the upcoming "Dirty Dancing" sequel "Havana Nights" (2004), which made nary a ripple with critics or audiences. The actor had a much more gratifying (if contrived)role in director Steven Spielberg's "The Terminal" (2004), playing a love-struck airport employee who employs a stranded immigrant (Tom Hanks) in his bid to woo a co-worker. He then headlined the Mexican crime thriller "Nicotina" (2004), playing a computer hacker who, thanks to his infatuation with his comely neighbor, botches an exchange with Russian gangsters and inadvertently dragging several unsuspecting people into a dangerous, pulpy plot; The film--and the actor--proved immensively popular in Mexico and Latin America, and was released to art house raves in the U.S.

  • Also Credited As:
    Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander
  • Born:
    Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander on December 29, 1979 in Mexico City, Mexico
  • Job Titles:
    Actor
Family
  • Father: Alejandro Luna.
  • Mother: Fiona Alexander. British-born; died in a car accident when Diego was only two years old
  • Son: Jeronimo Luna. Born Aug. 12, 2008; mother, Camila Sodi
Significant Others
  • Wife: Camila Sodi. Married Feb. 5, 2008; niece of singer and actress Thalia
Milestones
  • 1985 Made acting debut in the stage play De Pelicula
  • 1992 Landed role in the Mexican soap opera El Abuelo Y Yo
  • 2000 Appeared in the critically acclaimed Before Night Falls
  • 2002 Cast in the Showtime mini-series Fidel
  • 2002 Co-starred in the breakout Mexican hit Y tu mamá también
  • 2002 Featured in a small role in the Salma Hayek vehicle, Frida
  • 2003 Cast in the Kevin Costner directed Open Range
  • 2004 Appeared in Criminal, the English-language version of the Argentine hit Nine Queens
  • 2004 Starred in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
  • 2004 Starred opposite Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones in The Terminal
  • 2008 Portrayed Harvey Milk s (played by Sean Penn) lover in director Gus Van Sant s biopic Milk

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