'You Have to Forget': Diego Luna Reveals Doubts About His Role in Rogue One In Star Wars
A standout in Disney's Star Wars era, Andor is a gem that rivals Empire Strikes Back. Diego Luna, playing Cassian Andor, fulfills his dream of being part of something big and exclusive!
![Diego Luna in Star Wars (P.C. YouTube/ Star Wars) YouTube/ Star Wars](https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/2024-08/1348722350_2-22.jpg)
Disney's era of Star Wars has been notoriously messy and overwhelming, but one TV show stands out. This prequel to Rogue One, following Cassian Andor and a growing rebel alliance, is a gem, possibly the best thing to come out of the entire franchise since Empire Strikes Back.
Diego Luna, who plays the titular Andor, also gets to live out his dream. While Luna was already a successful actor before Rogue One, he had never been part of something that felt so big and so exclusive. In an interview with Variety in 2023, he said, "I had never been involved with such secrecy before."
The biggest surprise, however, for Luna was just how little his accent mattered: "Gareth explained the whole film to me, and at the end he said, "I'd like you to play this role." He asked me, "But I don't see myself here. I love these films, but how am I going to fit in here? No one has my accent." "I've never imagined this could be possible."
Luna's accent didn't bother the Rogue One director, however. In Luna's words, "I thought you would be a great fit for a role like this since I saw 'And your mom also.' I want that tone in the film. I want that realism, that feeling that it's everyday life.' I never thought I'd be able to be a part of Star Wars through a film such as 'And Your Mom Too'."
Edwards' logic here will definitely make sense to fans of the 2001 road trip romance film. In Alfonso Cuarón's already impressive filmography, that movie ranks among the best. Tenoch, a young, horny guy who appears to be a sleazeball at first, eventually reveals himself to be a sympathetic, complicated character and is played by Luna.
After 23 years, it's still one of Luna's best roles, so it's easy to see why Edwards and Tony Gilroy would be attracted to it. Andor is a surprisingly grounded, realistic story within the Star Wars universe, and "Y tu mamá también" feels achingly real.
In both the first and now the second seasons of Andor, Diego Luna brought nuance and realism to his work. Luna stressed that the approach was to detach from traditional Star Wars thinking. According to him, the show's creator, Tony Gilroy, was clear in his direction: "You have to forget that this is Star Wars."
Gilroy emphasized simplicity and authenticity, telling the team, "It has to be simple. It must be easy. It has to be genuine." If something seemed contrived or reminiscent of a distant galaxy, they knew they had strayed from the right course.
![](https://www.pinkvilla.com/assets/images/newsletter-icon.png)