As a spin-off series of the "Narcos" series, the reputation of "Narcos: Mexico" is no less than that of the original drama, and it has not lived up to the audience's super high expectations.
The central character of this story is the drug lord Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo. From the rise of the first season to the failure of the second season, off-screen we learned about the notorious drug lord in history and also got to know the actor Diego Luna.
As a Mexican actor, Diego is probably best known to audiences in recent years for the role of Cassian Amdo in Star Wars: Rogue One.
Star Wars Story: Rogue One
In fact, he is not a newcomer to Hollywood, and he has always been present in some commercial films in recent years. Diego has been constantly looking for a breakthrough, and "Narcos: Mexico" has also given audiences around the world a glimpse of the Mexican actor's charm.
Narcos: Mexico moves to Mexico in the 1980s, a country reminiscent of "deserts, cacti, drugs," about the rise of the Guadalajara drug cartel and the origins of the modern war against drugs.
And Felix in "Narcos: Mexico" seems to be a little different from the average tyrant: he is not so arrogant, fierce, and as a big man, he does not seem to be bold and cruel enough (from the beginning of the police uniform, he does not see the appearance of the future drug lord).
Despite his lack of the temperament to kill and decide, Felix has an organic and intelligent mind. Relying on the seedless hemp cultivated by his friend Rafa, Felix united with the major regional leaders in Mexico and established a drug kingdom almost empty-handed.
In addition to the charm of the character itself, Diego Luna's appearance and acting skills also make this role particularly attractive. His appearance was handsome enough, coupled with traditional Mexican clothing, short and thick beard, and an unusually charming tyrant was born.
Before taking on the role, Diego talked with producer Eric Newman for a long time: "I realized he wanted to talk about the system, not a character, a system that allowed those characters to exist and use it. It was also the deep theme of this play that finally touched him.
Although he was a native of Mexico, Diego didn't know much about that turbulent history, after all, he was born in 1979 and was only a few years old when Felix was rampant.
Diego was born into an artistic family, the son of a set designer and his mother a costume designer. Unfortunately, his mother died in a car accident when Diego was two years old. "She's beautiful and passionate about her work, so she's made a wonderful mark on the Mexican theater scene." I guess that's why I started working in the theater: I could feel the warmth of her around me. Diego said.
Diego in his youth
Diego starred in a TV series as a teenager and later co-starred with his friend Gail Garcia Bernal in the 2001 film "Your Mom Too" directed by Alfonso Cuarón. The film received multiple nominations such as the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and successfully opened up Diego's popularity.
Diego in "Your Mom Too."
But Diego is not just an actor, and his behind-the-scenes achievements are even more brilliant than on the screen: he and his friend Gale have founded two film and television companies, served as a jury member of the Cannes Film Festival, and directed the biopic "Caesar Chavez" (starring his partner Michael Pena in "Narcos: Mexico").
Caesar Chavez
Such Diego is both intelligent and independent, he seems to have always known the way forward, and has more ideas of his own in performance.
For example, in "Narcos: Mexico", Felix himself is still alive, but Diego refuses to contact him or get too close to people closely related to Felix, and his research on characters comes from articles, documentaries, and so on.
Diego explains, "I try not to judge him and make him a concrete character. When they tell you you're the bad guy, and then you're the bad guy in every scene, and everyone looks at you with particular fear, it's easy. But this guy is the opposite, he's called a businessman. I think it's because he understands the importance of being cautious in this world, and he has the ability to convince everyone to sit at the same table. ”
Diego plays the prototype of the drug lord, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo himself
One of the things that appealed to the audience about Narcos: Mexico was its authenticity.
As a Mexican, Diego Runa is deeply touched by this: "You should understand that the situation of violence in Mexico today does not belong to us, because this problem does not belong to us. It's a global problem and we're going through the worst part. So we need a dialogue, and we need this dialogue to have an impact on people outside of Mexico in order to find a solution that works for all of us.
“...... That's one of the reasons I accepted the job and one of the reasons I accepted this story. In addition to the challenges of playing this role, I also have the feeling that I am involved in a big thing. ”
Playing the role of the hero is a challenge for any actor, and it is necessary to maintain the characteristics of the prototype in the process of free play, and Diego in life is completely different from Felix.
But Diego likes to play this kind of person: "I like to play contradictory roles, I don't like moral good and evil." 」 I always try to be a real character, layered and three-dimensional, and (otherwise) you're a cartoon character with a mask. ”
The real him, on the other hand, will find a pink violin for his daughter everywhere, like water, and squeeze time to eat at his favorite restaurant. In my native Mexico, everything is free and relaxed.
For young audiences, Diego before "Narcos: Mexico" is not familiar, and the deepest impression left on young people should be the male protagonist in the "Fruit Sister" Katie Perry MV "The One That Got Away".
The MV is currently viewed more than 700 million times on YouTube. Diego himself joked that he had become "the man in the video" at that time.
After that, it's probably rebel Captain Cassian Amdo in "Star Wars: Rogue One" and the big star in "A Rainy Day in New York."
Ellie Fanning and Diego Runa in A Rainy Day in New York
Fortunately, Hollywood has never lacked opportunities, and with "Narco: Mexico" (season 1), Diego was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series.
The success of acting in such a Mexican historical theme TV series is particularly meaningful for himself and his country. That feeling is as honored and proud as he introduced Alfonso Cuarón's Roma at the 2019 Academy Awards.
Whether Diego will still appear in the third season of "Narco: Mexico" is still unknown. But for Diego, finishing two seasons of filming was a big relief: "I'm very proud of what we've done, but I have to get out there and listen and tell other stories." ”
The future of Diego will continue to be busy, and the most anticipated is Cassian Amdo's Star Wars IP indie episode "Amdo"!