Singapore: Actor Diego Luna, who will be seen playing the drug kingpin Felix Gallardo in the fourth season of the drug trade drama “Narcos: Mexico”, says it is a great chance to hear Mexican voices.
The series is helmed by Mexicans Amat Escalante and Alonso Ruizpalacios. It also stars American actor Michal Pena, whose parents were originally farmers and emigrated from Mexico.
Luna was here at Netflix’s ‘See What’s Next: Asia’, where he spoke about the series’ new season, which is set in the 1980s and follows Gallardo as he creates the biggest drug empire the country has ever seen.
Pena stars as DEA agent Kiki Camarena, who moves his family from California to Guadalajara and is assigned to investigate the cartel.
“I have been working in Mexico all my life but I haven’t seen them (crew and cast) all together. It’s like the dream team of the Mexican film industry and they could be here because the series in fact is based in Mexico the way I celebrate and love,” Luna said.
“It is a great chance to hear Mexican voices,” he added.
Luna spoke about the cast which includes Mexican directors and actors.
“There are many voices and have a chance to get to a bigger audience through the series. When you go to Mexico now, everyone is working. There was a time they would do one film a year and now you will not find them because they all are working,” he added.
Describing his character, Luna said Gallardo’s story is neither black nor white.
“It is not a stereotype of a drug dealer we have seen before. Definitely not a cliche. He is much more of a businessman. He is one step ahead of everyone… The story is not black and white. His story stays in the grey areas,” he said.
Keeping the show authentic, “Narcos: Mexico” will have actors speak in their native language and also in English.
Talking about having subtitles in the show, Luna said: “That’s one of the things I celebrate… If you are going out to tell a story then be authentic and respect the context, and when you show respect to stories like that then people appreciate that. I grew up watching cinema with subtitles, and for me it was normal.”
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