Diego Luna: It is great to see the power of the audience

Diego Luna feels that one of the many perks of playing Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo in Narcos: Mexico was his recent visit to India. When he got to know that I had the opportunity to watch the first four episodes of the show before it was aired, he felt it would be only fair that he interviewed me instead. After brushing off that suggestion, we got down to talking about the show that is currently making waves in the digital world and his character, Félix, who was referred to as the ‘Rockerfeller of Marijuana’.

Félix is someone who seems to be an unlikely bad guy. He prefers to talk, negotiate and even helps out his men rather than abandon them. What was your perception of the character?

When I hear the story, that’s when my perspective becomes important. Then I think about why we are telling it and what is the goal. Once you pass those filters and agree, you jump into portraying a character. And when you approach that character, you cannot judge him. You cannot think whether he is good or bad. He is just another man, who happens to work in a business that is violent in nature. You have to look for stuff, which humanises that character, which can have him connect with who you are. It’s love, friendship, jealousy, ambitions, regret, guilt... all of that you have to find to create a three-dimensional man. Now, that happens to be a guy who does all these horrible things. But if you ask any one of the ‘bad guys’, they have a reason (for doing what they do). They are never going to say that I am bad or evil. Those are things that you watch from afar and say, ‘That decision is horrible! Whoever decided to do that needs to be in jail.’ But as an actor, you cannot do that (judge a character).

But don’t you think that humanising negative characters could have people looking up to them?

Do you truly think these men are doing the things they do because they are bad or because they have a reason? If you decided to structure a show as the journey of a hero, then yes, you are probably making a mistake. I don’t think we are doing that here. In fact, what we are saying here is that, yes, these see people have made some wrong decisions, but they are also victims of the system. I like when things invite you to go deeper and wonder about things like, why do young people in these countries willing to join these organisations? What pushes them? 

Go on...

My character, he has to answer to someone else. So, things are little more complicated than good or bad. And that’s what I like when you approach an issue like this, but that’s my opinion and everyone should have there own and I respect that. The only opinion I don’t respect is when someone says let’s not talk about this because it is horrible. Let’s just focus of something beautiful and keep these out of the conversation. Because in my country that I live in at this moment there’s violence that I don’t want to be a part of and I don’t want my kids to grow up experiencing. So, in order to eradicate the problem, one has to understand the issues, and for that you have to talk about them.

With the previous seasons of Narcos being so successful, was there any pressure?

No, it was the opposite, in fact. Also, I don’t live my life like that... comparing myself to others. I think that would stop me from doing what I like the most, which is telling stories.  Doing a show like this, which is already so popular allows you to take your job to places that you normally wouldn’t. This is my first time in India. It’s because of Narcos and the success of the show. I am grateful (to be a part of the show).

What’s the last show you binge watched?

I am terrible with shows... I watch more documentaries, but I think it would be Peaky Blinders.

Shows like Narcos have brought local culture and language to a global platform. How do you think it helps a show?

It makes a lot of sense that finally it’s happening. The industry driven by studios have always had that accuracy with the American or British culture. They didn’t have the same for other parts of the world. But it’s not happening because they care. It’s happening because audiences care. They are much smarter than what we think. They are shaping the content we are seeing. If Narcos wasn’t this successful there would be no more shows in Spanish representing Latin-Americans, but because everyone watched it, they were like ‘Holy sh*t, we can do another one in Spanish and nothing will happen’. That’s because the audience is clearly saying this is what they want. It is great to see the power of the audience.

Did the current US-Mexico equation influence your decision when it came to signing this role?

Oh yes, a lot. It is a very important part of my decision (to do the show).