Diego Luna Shares Heartwarming 'Star Wars' Diversity Story

Before Rogue One officially became the third highest-grossing movie of 2016, all of three weeks ago, Diego Luna talked to our own Mike Ryan about being in a Star Wars movie, er, story. The word cloud of the interview would look something like “holy sh*t,” “crazy,” “lovely,” and “oh my God,” surrounded by a million exclamation points. Luna sounds genuinely thrilled to be part of the Star Wars family, and not just because of the paycheck, either — the movies meant a lot to him as a child, and they mean a lot to millions of people now.

The Y tu mamá también star, who was born in Mexico City, recently shared a heartwarming story on Twitter from a fan who took her Mexican father to see Rogue One. “I wanted my father, with his thick Mexican accent, to experience what it was like to see a hero in a blockbuster film speak the way he does,” she wrote, later adding, “I told him that Diego has openly talked about keeping his accent and how proud he is of it. And my dad was silent for a while and then he said, ‘And he was a main character.’ And I said, ‘He was.’ And my dad was so happy.” Luna’s response: “I got emotional reading this!”

Here’s the full message:

“I took my father to see Rogue One today. I’ve wanted to take him for a while. I wanted my Mexican father, with his thick Mexican accent, to experience what it was like to see a hero in a blockbuster film, speak the way he does. And although I wasn’t sure if it was going to resonate with him, I took him anyway. When Diego Luna’s character came onscreen and started speaking, my dad nudged me and said, ‘He has a heavy accent.’ I was like, ‘Yup.’ When the film was over and were walking to the car, he turns to me and says, ‘Did you notice that he had an accent?’ I said, ‘Yeah, dad, just like yours.’ Then my dad asked me if the film had made a lot of money. I told it was the second highest grossing film of 2016 despite it only being out for 18 days in 2016 (since New Year just came around). He then asked me if people liked the film. I told him that it had a huge following online and great reviews. He then asked me why Diego Luna hadn’t changed his accent and I told him that Diego has openly talked about keeping his accent and how proud he is of it. And my dad was silent for a while and then said, ‘And he was the main character.’ I said, ‘He was.’ And my dad was so happy. As we drove home he started telling me about other Mexican actors that he thinks should be in movies in America. Representation matters.”

Imagine how thrilled Luna must be now.