Ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Diego Luna spoke to the Hollywood Reporter to share his reaction to the Emmy nominations for first season of the Disney+ Andor series, and his feelings about the impending actors strike.
What was your reaction to Andor‘s nomination for outstanding drama?
I was very excited and proud and happy for all the team. It’s a beautiful thing. I celebrated all the nominations, and I am very pleased for those people. But obviously being there for best drama series means a lot because it’s about the team. The meaning of collaboration is defined by the way we work. This is a team that I really feel proud of being a part of. I see everyone working together in a way that you don’t see often. And I know it sounds like a cliché, but it’s not at all. Everyone is very proud of being part of this show. Everyone is using all the tools to bring the best for a reason that is much bigger than the craft we are doing. The story, the meaning of the story, is what keeps us going.
As the SAG strike looms, Andor feels very relevant. It is a show about labor movements and rebellion, and I was wondering how you thought about the relevance of the story right now.
It’s huge. As you say, it’s a show that’s relevant. It’s a show that would’ve been relevant 10 and 20 and 30 years ago. And sadly, it might still be relevant in a few decades. But if you want to see it from the hopeful and the brighter side, it’s a show about the strength we have as a community. It’s a show about the power that we have when we think in numbers, when we believe we’re part of something bigger, when we find what connects us with others. And it’s a beautiful reminder of that. It’s about regular people doing extraordinary things when they understand that it’s about working together. And, yes, of course it’s pertinent.
How is it meaningful to you that you were nominated as a producer on the project?
It means a lot because I’ve been working on this project for almost five years. It’s been a long journey. I mean, I’m completely devoted to this show and I enjoy being part of the whole process. It’s something I miss when I’m just an actor: the whole journey, being there from the moment things are just ideas, scratches on a paper, when opinions matter. For me, that’s really important — to be part of it from the beginning, without knowing where we were heading, just with the intentions of doing something special and unique. And today, they’re celebrating that.
How do you feel about the SAG strike?
I just really hope that things get better, that things get solved soon and that we have a healthy environment for everyone, not just actors, but everyone working in this industry. I am worried for what’s to come, but obviously supporting the strike and supporting the union. It’s quite remarkable what we’ve seen with the writers and what’s happening today with SAG.
We live in a world that is polarized, where there doesn’t seem to be any agreement. People disagree. That is the scenario we see in social media. It gives me hope to see people uniting and understanding the strength again of numbers and fighting as one. That is really an important reminder today of what we as citizens of this world need to be doing, finding solutions and working together to bring them because they’re needed. I really hope that this brings the best of everyone and that soon we can all be back working, in a much more fair and just scenario for everyone.
Read more here. Watch the first season of Andor exclusively on Disney+ now.
