‘La Maquina’ Stars Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal Talk Boxing, Butts and Botox
It’s been 12 years since Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna appeared on-screen together. In fact, ever since their breakout roles in “Y Tu Mamá También,” the two say they’ve rarely been pitched parts in the same project.
“After ‘También,’ we got offered for the same kind of film. You know, two guys going to the beach,” Bernal says, laughing, during an appearance on this week’s “Just for Variety” podcast with Luna. “The only time it’s happened properly with somebody outside our film family, it was Will Ferrell. He called us to do [2012’s] ‘Casa de Mi Padre.’”
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The lifelong friends are finally reunited on “La Máquina,” their Spanish-language Hulu series about Esteban (Bernal), an aging boxing champion attempting a comeback after a humiliating defeat against a rising star. (The two also are executive producers on the series through their production company, La Corriente del Golfo.) Esteban is ready to retire, but his longtime manager, Andy (Luna) — a man who indulges in over-the-top plastic surgery, self-tanner and extravagant jewelry — convinces him to compete one last time. However, things take a menacing turn when Andy must pay back a debt incurred early in Esteban’s career.
You first began developing this as a movie about a decade ago. Why did it take so long?
Diego Luna: It took time because we wanted to do it right. We wanted to talk about something that would matter to us — the success of someone, and talking about letting go, growing up, aging, which clearly is happening to us.
Gael García Bernal: We wanted to talk about the trap of success and how to say goodbye to success. Success obligates you to certain responsibilities, and you become a money machine.
What was the most challenging part of putting the story together?
Bernal: Doing something that was not the arche- typical journey. Not doing the success story of a boxer, but actually the how-to-say-goodbye moment. It’s like an anti-fable — how losing can become winning.
Luna: We also wanted to get away from the violence of boxing. There’s danger [in it], but we didn’t want to fall into clichés.
Bernal: We wanted to make it light and fun but make it deep.
What does “La Máquina” say about aging?
Luna: We wanted to talk about something that would matter to us — the success of someone, and talking about letting go, growing up, aging, which clearly is happening to us.
Bernal: We wanted to talk about the trap of success and how to say goodbye to success. Success obligates you to certain responsibilities, and you become a money machine.
Did you guys ever just chase the money?
Luna: No. I think we’ve been lucky enough never to have to think that way.
Gael, you played a wrestler in “Cassandro” and now a boxer. What’s the next sport you want to conquer?
Bernal: There’s something that’s very appealing because those two sports are incredibly famous in Mexico and popular, and they have their own worlds and cultures. I got an idea for the next one, but I don’t think it’s going to be a contact sport.
Diego, how long did it take you to get Andy’s final look? How did you decide how big his lips would be, what kind of toupee he’d have?
Luna: It’s not a toupee. It’s a wig. He has enough hair, but he wants more. I have to say it was the day I put on the pants with the fake ass. I was like, “Oh, shit, there he is.” It got me in a different physicality. I realized that when you have an ass, there’s not many trousers you can wear. I’m going to frame it at home.
Gael, how did you not start laughing during your first scenes with Diego as Andy?
Bernal: We did laugh. We were doing a six-page scene. It was a lot of dialogue and confrontation, and it was impossible to keep a straight face.
Luna: When we laugh, nothing can stop us. No one can stop us. The thing about Andy is he truly believes he’s getting away with it. I love that scene where he says to Esteban, “I have to confess something. I’ve been doing stuff to my face.” That’s one where we couldn’t stop laughing.
Did you FaceTime with your kids in full makeup?
Luna: We would Zoom, and I could tell my son was thinking, “Shit, this thing is going to come out one day and my friends are going to see it.”
Bernal: Maybe he thought that’s how he’s going to end up. [Laughs]
Have you ever felt the pressure to do something to make yourself look younger?
Luna: No. Do you think I have to?
No, but I Botox my forehead.
Luna: I never look at your forehead. I’m always looking into your eyes thinking, “How do you say this in English?”
I have to ask you about Mexico electing the country’s first female president [Claudia Sheinbaum]. Did you ever think you’d see that happen?
Luna: Not me.
Bernal: We thought about a lot of things, but what’s happening right now, I think we never thought about it. We never pictured it like this.
This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. You can listen to the full interview with Bernal and Luna on the “Just for Variety” podcast here or wherever you download your favorite podcasts.
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