Diego Luna

Summary

Podcast Summary: Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend – Episode Featuring Diego Luna

Release Date: June 23, 2025

Participants:

• Conan O’Brien – Host
• Diego Luna – Guest Actor
• Sona Movsesian – Conan’s Producer/Co-host
• Matt Gourley – Producer

---

Introduction and Lighthearted Banter (00:54 – 04:09)

The episode begins with playful interactions among the hosts and Diego Luna. A humorous exchange revolves around Sona Movsesian’s notorious habit of spilling food, leading to light-hearted teasing about her as a "spiller."

• Diego Luna [03:38]: "That's got to go to it, isn't it, boy?"
• Sona Movsesian [04:25]: "You're the mayor of friend zone."

Early Careers and Personal Histories (24:00 – 35:00)

Conan delves into his early life, discussing his upbringing in a household immersed in the arts due to his father's work as a set designer. He shares memories of being involved in telenovelas, highlighting the challenges and experiences that shaped his career.

• Conan O’Brien [24:04]: "I never had, like, the moment where I went like, oh, I want to. I want to be an actor because of what happens."

Diego reflects on his time in Mexican television and film, noting the impact of early roles on his career trajectory.

• Diego Luna [31:25]: "How old were you when you did that film?"

Transition to International Stardom and Star Wars (35:00 – 47:00)

The conversation shifts to Diego’s role in the Star Wars universe, particularly in "Rogue One" and the Disney series "Andor." Diego expresses his admiration for the thoughtful storytelling and realistic portrayal of characters within the franchise.

• Conan O’Brien [39:40]: "It's such a beautifully told story."

They discuss the integration of diverse cultures in mainstream media and the importance of representation, emphasizing how Diego’s presence in Star Wars serves as an inspiration to many.

• Diego Luna [43:24]: "You're not going to believe it, but I am half Scottish."

Filmmaking Philosophy and Production Insights (52:00 – 63:00)

Diego and Conan explore the intricacies of filmmaking, particularly within the Star Wars franchise. They highlight the meticulous set designs and the collaborative nature of creating immersive worlds.

• Diego Luna [54:16]: "It's like someone is messing up my designer."
• Conan O’Brien [55:48]: "Tony Gilroy... master of collaboration."

They delve into the practical aspects of production, such as on-location shoots versus studio settings, and how unexpected challenges (like weather conditions) can enhance storytelling.

• Conan O’Brien [57:16]: "We are interacting with props, with real pieces of the stage... it's built."

Impact of Representation and Audience Influence (63:00 – 68:00)

The discussion turns to the broader impact of representation in media. Both Conan and Diego emphasize the power of diverse voices and how audience engagement is reshaping the entertainment industry.

• Conan O’Brien [66:05]: "Today's people at home... if we as audience act with responsibility..."
• Diego Luna [67:37]: "It's so powerful to millions of kids who are seeing you in this franchise."

They reflect on the evolution of audience expectations and the role of media in fostering inclusivity and authenticity.

Closing Remarks and Future Collaborations (68:00 – End)

The episode wraps up with heartfelt exchanges, where Diego expresses his gratitude for Conan's friendship and contributions to his career. They humorously discuss potential future collaborations, including traveling together and Diego inviting Conan to appear on a telenovela.

• Diego Luna [68:07]: "I'm very proud to call you a friend."
• Conan O’Brien [69:15]: "Very, very important."

Conan and Diego reaffirm their mutual respect and excitement for future projects, highlighting the genuine friendship fostered through the podcast.

---

Key Takeaways:

• Representation Matters: Diego Luna’s role in Star Wars serves as a beacon for diversity in mainstream media, inspiring countless individuals.
• Collaborative Filmmaking: Successful storytelling in large franchises relies heavily on meticulous planning, collaboration, and adaptability.
• Audience Influence: Modern audiences wield significant power in shaping media content, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and authentic representation.
• Personal Connections: The podcast underscores the value of genuine friendships and personal bonds beyond professional relationships.

Notable Quotes:

• Diego Luna [07:04]: "What about you, girl? You seem like someone who can live. You live life, you enjoy."
• Conan O’Brien [15:04]: "It's scary times."
• Diego Luna [44:37]: "Your role has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you grew up in Mexico."

This episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend offers an intimate glimpse into Diego Luna’s career, personal experiences, and the profound impact of representation in media, all while showcasing the delightful camaraderie that defines Conan’s quest for genuine friendships.

Transcript

[Conan O'Brien]

Foreign.

[Diego Luna]

Do you own a business that's ready to thrive?

[Sona Movsesian]

I do.

[Diego Luna]

Well, it's time to let Intuit QuickBooks take things like unpaid invoices and tracking expenses off your plate to take things to the next level. Make sense?

[Sona Movsesian]

I really want my business to thrive.

[Diego Luna]

You should. It should. Intuit QuickBooks is an all in one business platform that can help with day to day tasks like invoicing and expenses. You want to be worried about that stuff?

[Sona Movsesian]

That's perfect. That's what I. That's all I do.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah.

[Sona Movsesian]

That's my whole business.

[Diego Luna]

It's your whole business. Manage and grow your business all in one place. Intuit QuickBooks your way to money.

[Matt Gourley]

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[Diego Luna]

I've always believed that your home should be an expression of who you are. That was my. I have that like tattooed on my low back.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, wow.

[Diego Luna]

I could have had so many things tattooed down there and that's what I chose down there. Yeah. Anyway, whether you're redecorating a single space or furnishing your entire home, Ashley has styles that balance timeless appeal and modern trends. To bring your personal look home, Ashley offers well crafted, affordable pieces built to stand up to real life, not phony pretend life. They offer fast, reliable white glove delivery right to your door. Ding dong. Hello.

[Conan O'Brien]

Hey.

[Diego Luna]

What do you guys wearing white gloves for? We're here from Ashley. Hey, you guys kept your promise. You bet we did. We're Ashley. Visit your local Ashley store or head to Ashley.com to find your style.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay, wait a second. I need to put these things on. You look really cool and professional.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah, I'm part of the franchise. The Star wars franchise.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay. Hi, my name is Diego Luna and I feel. Damn it. I feel. I have to say I feel really comfortable.

[Diego Luna]

Oh, good.

[Conan O'Brien]

About being Conan o' Brien's friend.

[Diego Luna]

Thank you.

[Conan O'Brien]

I feel very safe.

[Matt Gourley]

Fall is here Hear the yell Back to school Ring the bell Brand new shoes Walk and lose Climb the fence.

[Diego Luna]

Books and pens I can tell that we are gonna be. Yes, I can tell that we are gonna be friends. Hey there. Welcome to Conan o' Brien needs a friend. I'm joined by Sonam Afsesian. Matt Gourley. Nice to see you folks.

[Matt Gourley]

Why'd you pause?

[Diego Luna]

I paused because I was thinking and then I thought, yeah, it is nice to see you. Sona. You're having a bit of an issue today. You Had a bit of a spill. And this is a common problem for you, is it not?

[Sona Movsesian]

It's a common problem.

[Diego Luna]

You're a spiller.

[Conan O'Brien]

I am.

[Sona Movsesian]

You know what? I get angry.

[Diego Luna]

You don't have love. You always say, what? And then immediately say, yes, I know.

[Sona Movsesian]

I know, because you are right. I do spill on myself a lot, and I have to be more aware of it because this is filmed. But earlier today, I had a dish with pesto and I spilled it all over.

[Matt Gourley]

Oh, I see it.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah.

[Sona Movsesian]

Do you?

[Diego Luna]

Yeah, it's right there. What did you. How did you try to get it out with a.

[Sona Movsesian]

With a Tide stick? Shout out Tide.

[Diego Luna]

Well, not shout out Tide, because I don't think it worked. Well.

[Matt Gourley]

You use the Tide Pesto stick.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah. It's got to be specifically tied.

[Sona Movsesian]

Pesto got it in and then I. And then it was wet for a really long time. They were like two wet spots. And then I thought, oh, when it dries, maybe it'll be cleared up. And it. It's not. And I just. It's bothering me.

[Diego Luna]

That's got to go to it, isn't it, boy? And can I say, I've known you quite a while, Sona, and you have been traditionally a spiller.

[Sona Movsesian]

I'm a sloppy eater, yes.

[Diego Luna]

Oh, well, you are.

[Sona Movsesian]

Who else is a sloppy eater? You are a sloppy eater.

[Diego Luna]

I don't spill on myself, though. I always wear a giant bib. And then I say, goo goo Gaga.

[Sona Movsesian]

When I'm eating and I have to feed you and you have to feed me.

[Diego Luna]

And why do I wear a bonnet? And I kick my feet up in the air in little booties. Yeah.

[Sona Movsesian]

And you're sitting in a high chair, often doze off.

[Diego Luna]

And then you put me right in the crib, Sona. Why? It's just something I used to request. And you went along with it.

[Matt Gourley]

I want out.

[Diego Luna]

6 foot 4. Baby needs to go to bed. Bed. Look, we all have our fetishes. That was mine.

[Sona Movsesian]

Burp you.

[Diego Luna]

What are you gonna do in the future to avoid these spills? Because nothing, okay?

[Sona Movsesian]

It's just a part of my life. It's like something I know about myself. And I think I need to carry more Tide sticks. Shout out Tide, send us well or something.

[Diego Luna]

That's going to work. Did the Tide stick work, do you think?

[Sona Movsesian]

No.

[Diego Luna]

Okay, well, then why do you want more of them sent this way? And maybe they just need to work on their formula. Or maybe Tide's gonna say, look, we're a good product, but there's nothing we can do. With Sona Moses. Like, that's not fair. Like that's not fair.

[Sona Movsesian]

Know, I do have.

[Diego Luna]

We're a good sponge, but you just threw us in the Pacific and you're bitching that it's still. That the Pacific is still there. So I'm going to say Tide, I bet you're a great product because I can almost not see it. And it's Sonam obsession. So really good work, Tide.

[Sona Movsesian]

I have a lot of them all over the place. Sometimes they.

[Diego Luna]

What? Works?

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah, I do.

[Diego Luna]

Oh, so you're like someone who hides knives around the house, only for you it's tied sticks. What do you mean? You know what people, when they hide weapons in movies, when people have secreted weapons and guns around the room, that's you. Except it's all cleaning sticks.

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah, but when you have a three year old, I'm the same way. Your clothes are constantly covered in food from your kids, you know?

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah, it's from the kids.

[Matt Gourley]

Yeah. Oh, wait a minute.

[Diego Luna]

Uh.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, no, it's from me.

[Diego Luna]

Oh, wow.

[Sona Movsesian]

I'm just like.

[Diego Luna]

Do you often get food on your kids?

[Matt Gourley]

They're very tiny.

[Diego Luna]

They're very tiny. You have three and a half year olds who are always wearing little white tuxedos and very fastidious about their eating habits. Yeah. And you're like, hey, guys, this burrito's good. That mama's blah. Mommy, mommy, our foot. Our white tuxedos.

[Sona Movsesian]

You know, I love eating. I love eating and I. And I'm a shoveler into my mouth and so it just, sometimes it spills on me. And that's okay because you know what I love? It's an expression of joy.

[Diego Luna]

I love that you love eating. I eat quickly. I unhinge my mouth, get it in and swallow it. And I don't enjoy it.

[Sona Movsesian]

You have to enjoy it.

[Diego Luna]

I know, but will you agree that.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah, yeah.

[Diego Luna]

It's just. Yeah, I've got, I've got to get rid of that. I'm getting better. But that just get to the grave mentality. Get this food in and then get to bed.

[Sona Movsesian]

And I like, you know, for me it's like, I swear I feel like after every bite, I sometimes I can hear in my brain going, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. And then I'll do it again. I'll be like, yum, yum, yum.

[Diego Luna]

You know, I can tell when Sona's liking her food is that she'll have a knife and fork. And if she's really liking it, she conducts a little bit While she's chomping. She does. She's like. And then she. I can see her. Her. I've seen her conducting an orchestra. That's not there because she's really liking her food. You do that. People in cartoons do that. That's nice.

[Matt Gourley]

I like that.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah. You should be more like me.

[Diego Luna]

I should.

[Sona Movsesian]

You know what I've always should aspire to? Love the food you eat as much.

[Diego Luna]

As I love and love life.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah, I do.

[Diego Luna]

As much as you do. You're a Zorba, but yeah.

[Sona Movsesian]

Okay, all right.

[Diego Luna]

Oh, you are. You're Zorba the Armenian.

[Sona Movsesian]

Okay. Also quarter Greek.

[Diego Luna]

And also quarter Greek. Zorba the quarter Greek, I think.

[Sona Movsesian]

And you. You get to, like, eat such delicious food. I. Okay, all right. Never mind.

[Diego Luna]

Whenever the waiter brings it over, I'm like, let's just. He starts to say, now let me tell you what we did with the food. And I'm like, just get it in me grave waiting.

[Conan O'Brien]

Sir.

[Diego Luna]

What we do here, it's very beautiful.

[Conan O'Brien]

We infuse the olives.

[Diego Luna]

Just push it in the hole, then open the casket and shut it. My God. So someone else can live. I want to give up my son. Spot.

[Sona Movsesian]

That's me.

[Diego Luna]

I don't know what my problem is, but that's always been me.

[Sona Movsesian]

From now on in your head, just go, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.

[Diego Luna]

Yum, yum, yum, yum. Conducting, conducting an orchestra that isn't there. What about you, girl? You seem like someone who can live. You live life, you enjoy.

[Matt Gourley]

You know, I'm more like. I'm an eater, more like you. But lately I've been more like you. But I wish I could say it was cuz it's like, ah, life, it's more stress. I'm like finding in my 20s it was weed, 40s was alcohol, and 50s is food is how I cope.

[Diego Luna]

Oh.

[Matt Gourley]

Kind of like I've used up all those other ones, you know? So now I love food. Yeah, but it's like a stress.

[Diego Luna]

You skipped heroin.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's my 60s.

[Diego Luna]

Heroin in your 60s? Never a bad idea. This message brought to you by.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yesterday I was having lunch with my friend and I had to come here for the.

[Diego Luna]

Got to. Come here.

[Sona Movsesian]

Got to. I had to come here and I had a piece. There was a piece of sourdough on the table, and I was like, should I take it with me? And then I did. And I just came here, just shoving a giant thing, slice of sourdough in my face.

[Diego Luna]

So you walked down the street holding the sourdough that you had taken from.

[Sona Movsesian]

The table, this huge slice of sourdough. And I was like, is this a normal thing to do, to just eat a giant piece of bread?

[Matt Gourley]

That's kind of Parisian, you know?

[Diego Luna]

Yeah, exactly. Having some bread.

[Sona Movsesian]

Okay.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Diego Luna]

You were walking along the banks of the Seine here in Larchmont.

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Diego Luna]

And there was someone. Did you pass an old man playing the accordion?

[Matt Gourley]

No.

[Diego Luna]

Did you pass a painter painting a nice landscape? How about a mime? A mime?

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Diego Luna]

We went too far. Yeah.

[Sona Movsesian]

A lot of.

[Diego Luna]

Well, anyway, I'm going to try. I do think I should try and be more like you. Even if it means the occasional spill. Enjoy life. Live life tied. It's the stick that can help anyone. But Sona, my guest today has starred in such movies as Itu Mama Tambien in Rogue One, a Star Wars Story. You can also see him in season two of the hit Disney series Andor. I love Andor. I know you're a fan too, Matt.

[Matt Gourley]

Yes, sir.

[Diego Luna]

I'm thrilled he's here. Lego Luna. Welcome. You feel safe being with me?

[Conan O'Brien]

Being your friend?

[Diego Luna]

Yes, being my friend.

[Conan O'Brien]

I mean, I can use that, right? I've been using it.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

To get into places, to get away with doing things that are dodgy. You know, I go like, oh, but I'm Conan's friend. And they go, oh, of course. Now we get it.

[Diego Luna]

Oh, oh, wow. Okay. Like, I'm glad that my name creates that much of a sense of protection for you.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes.

[Diego Luna]

You live. We were just talking before we began that you live in Mexico City and in the south. Or as I say, El Sur. El Surfec. Listen.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, God.

[Diego Luna]

And I know. Here's the great dynamic. Eduardo. Eduardo. Eduardo.

[Conan O'Brien]

It's not Eduardo. It's Eduardo.

[Diego Luna]

Eduardo. Eduardo.

[Conan O'Brien]

Out of them.

[Diego Luna]

Eduardo is in a constant hell of me pretending that I am fluent in Spanish and understand the culture and that maybe I'm. I'm from Central America or Mexico. And you look it, I look it.

[Sona Movsesian]

You can blend right in.

[Diego Luna]

So. And then you immediately bonded with Eduardo because of the.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, as soon as we arrive to a place, you know, as soon as you get into a place and someone speaks Spanish, you go like, oh, okay, I'm comfortable now. I mean, he's going to protect me.

[Matt Gourley]

That's why you're comfortable being his friend.

[Diego Luna]

Yes, obviously.

[Conan O'Brien]

Obviously. Yeah.

[Diego Luna]

What about when someone like me butchers it in a well intentioned way?

[Conan O'Brien]

I. It's very. I mean, it makes me. It makes me feel like. Yeah. Like I've done something Good in my life, you know, that I get to witness you trying so hard. Because, you know, like, first times I went to your show, it's you. I mean, I'm freaking out always before going in there. Oh, you know. Yes.

[Diego Luna]

Just. Cause I'm so scary. I'm tall. Very, very white.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, yeah. And you have an audience and they laugh, you know, to what you say.

[Diego Luna]

Or they're punished or they punish or.

[Conan O'Brien]

No one pays them. So they laugh at what you say. And that makes everything you say be so like. So then you're freaking out. So it's kind of nice to see you now freaking out, trying to speak another language.

[Diego Luna]

Yes. Yes. Well, you did a. And I have a bond, which is very important to me, which is many years ago, during the first Trump administration, My staff and I, when we were doing the show at TBS and you were part of this sona.

[Sona Movsesian]

I was.

[Diego Luna]

We worked it out with Televisa and we did a show from Mexico City and you were a guest, and it was really a beautiful thing. I loved doing that show. I did a monologue en espanol and got through it, and the audience actually kind of laughed. It's sort of the right places. And I think there was some pity there, but there's some pity.

[Sona Movsesian]

He's trying.

[Diego Luna]

He's trying. He's really trying. Which is how my wife.

[Conan O'Brien]

They were all televis actors. All the people from the telenovelas were sitting there. Didn't they look extra cute?

[Diego Luna]

They were so beautiful. Yeah, I did. But you came on the show and.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, you did amazing. I just want to make sure people understand you really put yourself there, which was something like. It needed guts. It was like a big risk and a lot of fun to see you really going for it.

[Diego Luna]

Well, you know what was fun is Vicente Fox.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Diego Luna]

The former president of Mexico came on the show and I still. They're in my office. He gave me these boots.

[Conan O'Brien]

Holy crap.

[Diego Luna]

Which say, no, no fucking wall. And then he put my name on them. And they're fantastic. They're fantastic boots. He found out my size.

[Conan O'Brien]

He does good boots. I guess that's what he does. Good.

[Diego Luna]

His main contribution, I think, as the president, was people voted for him because he made good boots.

[Conan O'Brien]

I'm sure he charged someone for those boots. I mean, they might be a gift to you, but not as a gift.

[Diego Luna]

Somebody had to pay.

[Conan O'Brien]

Someone paid for that.

[Diego Luna]

You know, we were talking earlier about. We did that show and it was a very special time. And we thought, well, those times ended. Yeah. And now in some ways, in some ways, those times have returned with a vengeance. And I know you touched on it a little bit when you first started talking about how you feel safe being here. And these are tricky times, but it is. And, you know, we're not the most political podcast. We're really not a political podcast at all. But. But we have to address the fact that you and I had this really special time in this special moment during that first administration, and then many of us thought that we were moving past that to maybe a better future, and here we are again.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. History repeats and reloaded kind of thing. Yeah. I don't know. I'm shocked on. Yeah. On many things. Of what we're witnessing these days. And I think the best way to talk about this is. I don't think I can fully understand what some part of the community, the Hispanic community in this country are going through. You know, the fear and the. It's like. I can't imagine. I mean, how that is. You know, that you dedicate your life, work to build something, and suddenly they tell you they're gonna take that away from you instantly just because of. It's quite scary.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Scary times.

[Diego Luna]

But it's also just pointing out that I've been living in Los Angeles for many years, and Matt and Sonny from Los Angeles. But you live here in Los Angeles. And everybody. Just everybody I work with, everybody who works with me, everybody who helps me in any way or helps my family in any way with everything that needs to be done with our house in every way, every day. I am working with people who are from Mexico or Central America or South America. They are such a vital. They are the community in Los Angeles. It just feels like it's such a. They're doing all the work, which is really powerful to see every day. And I have empathy because if you're paying attention, you understand that feels like 80% of what's getting done here to sustain our lives and our culture and our community is coming from south of the border. So I didn't mean for things to get this heavy this quickly. Cause you're such a funny. You're such a funny guy. But I think I just had a little bit of a flashback to the times.

[Conan O'Brien]

But it's good you do this.

[Diego Luna]

We've spoken before, and I know that this is very important to you, and you're a very proud and vocal member of your community. And so it's meaningful to me that you're here today. Cause I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and I was very happy you're coming. And it meant so much to me that you did our show in Mexico City. And I consider you a very special friend for that reason.

[Conan O'Brien]

I consider you a special friend, too. And I was very disappointed to hear that, because every time I have to come and promote something, I always go like, can we go to Conan? And I'm glad we're here.

[Diego Luna]

You're creating the impression that people say, no, no.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, it's just that you don't have a show anymore.

[Diego Luna]

That would not be a good move for you, Taga. We're trying to build up your career, and it's really going great for you. Conan's the wrong move at this time. No, you're always welcome here. Always welcome here.

[Conan O'Brien]

I love that now you have this new format. I love it. And it's good we started like that. It's good we said it because it's important. You cannot come to this country. You cannot come to California. You can not be in front of a microphone and not say something about that. You know what this community is going through and the amount of support and help they need these days. They need you to show up so that you dedicate some space for that means a lot. And it's a good example of what people should be doing with microphones these days. That being said, I do miss you having a show on tv, because now I can't go there when I have something to promote. It might stop acting.

[Diego Luna]

Well, you can come here. And also, I do a travel show now for Max, so maybe we'll go someplace. Oh, come on.

[Conan O'Brien]

Can we travel together?

[Diego Luna]

Oh, you know, we just did. A new season is starting in a few days, and Javier Bardem did a whole episode with me in Madrid, and we're totally idiots. Lunatics. It was really fun and silly.

[Conan O'Brien]

And he's a fun guy.

[Diego Luna]

He is a really fun guy. And so. And I'm thinking you and I will find a. We'll find a way to go and do it. I mean, you did do a travel show with me because that was the Mexico City show. But in this new HBO Max format, it would be really fun to do something with you. So we'll do it.

[Conan O'Brien]

I would love to.

[Diego Luna]

I'm going to bring you to Northern Ireland. You'll feel right at home.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, I'll tell you one thing. You're not going to. You're not going to believe it, but I am half Scottish.

[Diego Luna]

I did know that. Okay, I did know that.

[Conan O'Brien]

My mom was born in Scotland and Scottish family. I have a big British family. And I've never traveled through Scotland looking for my roots, so this is perfect.

[Diego Luna]

Oh, wait a minute. This is perfect because. And now I have to pay you for the idea.

[Conan O'Brien]

I did have the idea. Right, Eduardo? Eduardo, you got it, right. You got my back, man.

[Diego Luna]

Okay, Eduardo. Edit. I wonder what the word could be. Hey, Sona, do you own a business that's ready to thrive?

[Sona Movsesian]

I do.

[Diego Luna]

Well, it's time to let Intuit QuickBooks take things like unpaid invoices and tracking expenses off your plate to take things to the next level. Make sense?

[Sona Movsesian]

I really want my business to thrive.

[Diego Luna]

You should. It should. Intuit QuickBooks is an all in one business platform that can help with day to day tasks like invoicing and expenses. You want to be worried about that stuff?

[Sona Movsesian]

That's perfect. That's what I. That's all I do.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah.

[Sona Movsesian]

That's my whole business.

[Diego Luna]

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[Matt Gourley]

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[Diego Luna]

Uncrustables are the best part of the sandwich. I mean, we've been thinking that. Why does he say it right, Sona?

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah, like, who needs a crust?

[Diego Luna]

You've been saying that since the day I met you 15 years ago. Sony. You said, who needs the crust? And I said, first of all, my name's Conan. You know. Anyway, it's the perfect grab and go for all of life's moments with unbeatable soft bread and a variety of flavors like, well, peanut butter and grape jelly, peanut butter and strawberry jam. Hello. Peanut butter and raspberry spread and so much more. No mess, no prep. Just thaw and eat. Yep, get them in the freezer aisle today. This is an advertisement from BetterHelp. Men today face immense pressure to keep it all together. But bottling things up can lead to depression or unhealthy habits. It's okay to struggle. Real strength comes from opening up about what you're carrying so you can be at your best for yourself and for everyone in your life. If you're a man, you're feeling the weight of the world, talk to somebody. Not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. It's convenient, too. You can join a session with a therapist at the click of a button, helping you Fit therapy into your busy life. Plus switch therapists at any time. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. There's no reason not to try. Talk it out. With BetterHelp, our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com CONAN that's better. H-E-L-P.com CONAN I was reading about your family. I know your mom, you lost your mom at a very early age. And your father, this fascinates me. Your father was a set designer for everything, for theater, for opera, for movies, anything. And so you grew up. It's no accident. I mean, I'm sure part of it's you're extremely talented, obviously, but you grew up in a house where your dad would be building sets in the house that had to inform your sense that, oh, life is magical and mysterious and there's different. My dad is building weird sets for operas in the house that would maybe make you think, this is a world I could inhabit.

[Conan O'Brien]

Definitely. And I saw things go from a quick drawing to a model thing to then suddenly a gigantic set. There is a film called Santa Sangre. And I was very young. That's why I remember Santa Sangre, because it made a huge impact. It's a Jodorowsky film. And my father was working there as the. Yeah. The art director. And there's this moment where an elephant dies, you know, and there's. And I was with half of the head of the elephant and the trump. You call them trumps.

[Matt Gourley]

Trunk.

[Conan O'Brien]

Trunk.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Trunk. Trunk.

[Diego Luna]

Oh, good.

[Conan O'Brien]

I just said trump. Right? Damn it.

[Matt Gourley]

Listen, he's the other end of the elephant.

[Diego Luna]

Cut to 1930s audience applauding very well done, Matt. Very well done.

[Conan O'Brien]

I'm sorry to bring that. I wasn't trying. So because the thing, there's a moment where blood is coming out of the trunk. But I had the piece of the prop, the gigantic thing in my living room for months. I was interacting with that thing.

[Diego Luna]

It's like the sandworm from Dune.

[Matt Gourley]

Well, that's as well, dude. Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, exactly. So it was quite a thing. And my father at the same time. Because you always, everything you do somehow at that age is to piss off your parents. So my father, he loves actors and he works for actors to suddenly use his sets. But he always complains about what they do. He would always say, like, oh, the actor never gets in the light. Where I put a light here and he stands there. Then I move the light and he stutters in the other side or like, these damn actors. These damn actors don't know how to use the ramp in the stair, in the. In the theater, or blah, blah, blah. So I decided to become an actor also to piss him off and then.

[Diego Luna]

Intentionally stand in the wrong spot.

[Conan O'Brien]

Exactly, exactly. But yes, it was. And to be honest, it was more. I never had, like, the moment where I went like, oh, I want to. I want to be an actor because of what happens. It was just about being part of his world and make sure no one would take him away from me, you know, like, and, And. And also because school was boring and it was nice to feel I could be around adults that were acting like kids, you know, that's. That's what theater represented for me. Like, these adults are. Are much more fun than the kids in school. These adults, these crazy adults pretending to be someone else, telling stories, playing, spending all day in this fantasy world.

[Diego Luna]

It's like that old idea of running away with a circus.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Diego Luna]

There's my reaction to getting into comedy when I was 18, 19, and seriously thinking about it was, wait a minute, this can be a job. I just assumed that my job had to be something that I hated, that I have to go and do something serious, and it's gonna be something I hate, but then I can be fun with my friends and my family when I go home. And the idea that this could be a profession was insane to me because I'm from Boston, Massachusetts. Nobody's doing that. It was a very strange feeling. But I know that idea that of course I'd rather do this than go to school or memorize something or take a test.

[Conan O'Brien]

And also, it's a family that shares a passion, and that is such a difficult thing to find. Imagine a Christmas dinner where everyone talks about something that matters to the other, you know, because Christmas are like, oh, my God, here the uncle. The drunk uncle again. Oh, shit. Now he's gonna tell the story of. But imagine you care about what they're talking about and you really wanna be around that gang, and that's how it feels in these communities, you know? Also, my mom passed away when I was two years old, but she was a costume designer and a painter, and she worked with half of the people I grew up working with. So in a way, it was her love stories that were around me, you know, and all these people trying to be their best because they knew my mom wasn't around. So suddenly everyone was like, feeling for my mom. You know, somehow I got all these crazy, interesting mothers, you know, that Were like actresses or directors or. Yeah. Designers. And they were all, like, very into making my life nice and easy and fun. And it was the best.

[Diego Luna]

You've said that you had a real connection with women always. And this, what you're saying may have been the introduction to it, but that women would befriend you and confide in you and trust you. And you were that guy growing up.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, yeah.

[Diego Luna]

Which sometimes I was that way a little bit. And I would take it a little bit as an insult. You know, Conan, we don't see you as a sexual threat.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes.

[Diego Luna]

You don't even seem like a man to us, so we're very comfortable. I'll braid your hair, you braid mine, and we'll tell you all our secrets. And there was a time there where I thought, this is. This is insulting, but I'm still happy.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes. No, I never felt I was being insulted. Not at all. And I do. I do connect with that. Definitely. Yeah. Yes. Yes. And always, also, there was stories you could tell. No, I mean, because I was having a. A life that no other kid was having. So I could talk to you about stuff no one else could. So it was fun. I guess that's a nice way in. But then it's quite frustrating to have to go back home and say, like, oh, no, she's not with the boyfriend. Yeah.

[Diego Luna]

Yes. Yeah, yeah. We have this great, deep connection. But she doesn't see me that way. She's with this other guy.

[Conan O'Brien]

That happened to me, like, from. Yeah. Like for a year or two of my life.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Then things got better. Are you still. Are you still there? Because you look very. You look very sad.

[Diego Luna]

Things never got better. I do have a wife. I love her, and we've been together a long time, but she also does not see me as a sexual person.

[Sona Movsesian]

You're the mayor of friend zone.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah, I'm in the friend zone. That's a. I have a very healthy marriage, but I'm in the friend zone with my wife of 23 years. And I don't know how that happened. And we have two children, but who knows how that happened.

[Matt Gourley]

For your wedding, you guys just gave each other friendship bracelets.

[Diego Luna]

Exactly. Yeah, exactly.

[Sona Movsesian]

Instead of kissing after you high five, we high five.

[Diego Luna]

Do you take this friend to be your friend? And do you take this friend to be your friend? I'm curious about. I know the breakout for you was the. That beautiful, terrific movie Y Tu Mama Tambien. And that. How old were you when you did that film?

[Conan O'Brien]

That's probably the best Spanish I'VE heard from you. Really? Wasn't it? Yes. Didn't he say.

[Diego Luna]

Okay. Okay, guys, if we call it out, every time I manage to get it kind of right, it makes it worse. Okay.

[Sona Movsesian]

Good job, Cory.

[Diego Luna]

You did it. That was cute.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, my God. This is quite, like, a structure. Your show is about them making fun of you the whole time.

[Diego Luna]

Yes.

[Conan O'Brien]

Is that it?

[Matt Gourley]

When you guys leave, though, he comes at us.

[Conan O'Brien]

But you don't record that. Therefore, like, the actual sweet.

[Diego Luna]

Oh. Oh, God. We record it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay.

[Diego Luna]

No. I am very comfortable being. I'm one of six children in my family. I have many brothers and sisters, so being mercilessly made fun of is in my DNA. And I actually. In a sick, sadomastochistic way, I like it. But.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, Sorry. No, no.

[Diego Luna]

I was saying that that. That was. How old were you when you made that film? You were.

[Conan O'Brien]

I was 19.

[Diego Luna]

19.

[Conan O'Brien]

I think when. When we did that film, and.

[Diego Luna]

And that kind of changed. I mean, obviously, theater was a big part of your life, and theater still is a big part of your life, but that must have been a huge change for you.

[Conan O'Brien]

I was doing. I was doing, yeah, because I was very comfortable and in Mexico, and I didn't even think it was possible to actually start, like, moving around and traveling with my work and finding new audiences. I was pretty comfortable doing cinema. That was very small. We had an industry that was doing 10 to 12 films a year back then, so it was very small. Your family would watch it and someone in a festival, probably, but that was it. But I had theater, and I was doing TV to support myself. I was living by. Yeah.

[Diego Luna]

What kind of TV did you do?

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, like the last.

[Diego Luna]

Did you do telenovelas?

[Conan O'Brien]

The last telenovela I did, it was just right before Itun Matambien, because I was 19 years old. I remember that day as, like, the day I stopped doing telenovelas. I'm never gonna forget. But I started really, like, at 12. I worked on the first telenovela, so it was good. Seven years of my life.

[Diego Luna]

I occasionally will be talking to someone from Mexico. This happens a lot. We'll be chatting, and they'll want to know. They know that I work in television. They've seen clips, but I always say to them, well, I did a telenovela because I did it when I was in. And I was in. I think it was the. Something Malediction. I forget what it's called. Maldicion. Yeah. That's close. It's more like Miable Maldicion. You'll get it, Eduardo. Okay. Get it later. Yeah, I know. He Just needs a little more time under my tutelage.

[Conan O'Brien]

Wow.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah. I'll teach you how to do it in a Boston accent. But no, they wrote a part for me and they were really funny. They wrote a part for me as a cheese merchant and they gave me a mustache. And I come in and I have this scene where I'm getting very angry. And it's this. One of the most beautiful women I've seen in my life. The women in these. The men are so good looking. This woman was. Took my breath away. She was so beautiful. And you can see the clip online. And she. There's a point where I'm getting very angry with her and I'm. It's all in Spanish and I'm yelling at her in Spanish, you do not treat me this way. I will not be. And she puts her hand out and she touches me. And I guess they have a name for it in telenovelas, which is the thunderbolt or something, where. Where a woman touches a man and suddenly they have that moment of connection and it's such a soap opera thing.

[Conan O'Brien]

It is.

[Diego Luna]

But she. I'm yelling at her and she touches me and I look at her and they cut to her and she suddenly feels this emotion, which, by the way, she would never feel in real life. And the crowd went crazy. This crowd, they go crazy. And it's one of my favorite moments from my career. And I love to show it to people I talk to. I'm constantly calling it up on my phone and saying, check this out. And my wife is like, you're not making them watch. You're telling novel. This is Pedro and this is Jose. And I'm just showing it to them. And they always. But it's so funny because it all.

[Conan O'Brien]

Depends on the perspective, right? I'm trying to disappear everything that's out there from the work I did in telenovelas. Nah, nah.

[Diego Luna]

You were a kid. You were a young man.

[Conan O'Brien]

I was 19. I was still doing telenovelas. And there was a few. No, there's a few that I'm more proud of than the others. But it is a big thing, and it was one I grew up in theater, where they would see, like, they would judge you if you were going to work on a telenovela. But the point came where every actor had to be in both things to survive. Theater wouldn't be enough to pay your rent, and actors would be doing telenovelas and theater at night. And it was quite a thing. And you can tell, like, what happens with the popularity, you know, in telenovelas, like, you are doing One, and you are very popular, but another one comes and everyone forgets immediately. You know, it's that kind of thing where.

[Diego Luna]

Because it's what some people have said, too, about being in soap operas or telenovelas is that if you're playing the bad guy, people in the supermarket who see you are mad at you. They're like, I don't like what you're doing. And you're like, no, no, no. That is a role that I'm playing. So, yes, people take it very seriously, become part of their lives, obviously.

[Conan O'Brien]

I mean, and things have changed, I think, in the 90s and early 2000s, like, the TV was always on, you know, in many homes. And you were there. You were part of their everyday life. You know, it was like telenovelas. There was the ones that were meant to be playing while you were doing something else also, you know, and that's why they repeat them over and over the same scene, you know, because you're not really paying attention sometimes, you know. But television was really important for audiences. Not these days. Now. Now people are more, like, into searching for what they want to be consuming, you know? Yes.

[Diego Luna]

There was a time, it's a great term for it here, where people are siloed. Everyone's in their own little tube, watching all the stuff that they just want to see. They're not connected to each other.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, the bubble. No, you live in this.

[Diego Luna]

You're in your own little bubble and you're watching, and all the content is catered just to you. If you're online, you're seeing everything that you would want to see. As opposed to when I was growing up, obviously, I'm much older than everybody here, but it was. Tv was. There's three, four channels, and you had to wait for what had good reception because we didn't have cable. So sometimes the channel that had something good on wasn't coming in, and then you'd flip the channel and it's a Catholic mass. You're like, oh, my God, but it looks good. It's coming in. I guess we'll watch this and hope a gunfight breaks out. Jesus never did. But you're right, you were forced to be exposed to things like old movies, things that you wouldn't watch normally because that was what was on television.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Diego Luna]

What's fascinating to me about your career is that you have this very bohemian background. Theater, small movies, art house movies. And then you're in what's arguably one of the best of the Star wars franchise films, Rogue One. And that's gotta just change Everything. I mean, it's. And then it's led to, you know, today you're here because Andor is out with the second season, a show I love, by the way. It's fantastic. And I'm not even a Star wars person per se, but I love it. I think it's such a great. It's a beautifully told story. And so now you find yourself in this world of a huge international audience and the power of the Star wars franchise behind you. It's such a. You weren't setting out. You weren't looking for that.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, not at all. Not at all. And also because it would have been painful. There was no room. You know, I grew up watching these films, but I never thought. I mean, I never saw someone like me there. I never thought it was possible. And I didn't even want to. Like, I was doing theater. Really happy when I did it. I started traveling with my work, and it was. Suddenly I realized there was a community that it was really close to me. You know, in the States, for example, when I went the first time to Sundance, I realized there was people that struggled the same way I struggled to work on film. You know, Hollywood wasn't a thing like Hollywood. Like, Hollywood was just like a.

[Diego Luna]

There were different subsets, communities. Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Independent cinema, theater, people doing cinema, but theater and then cinema again, and struggling to get financing for their movies and finally getting it and having very little resources, so have to, like, with creativity, solve things and all of that. I started finding those connections in the States, in London, in Spain, and suddenly was like, okay, great. I can keep doing what I do. When I was asked to do Rogue One or to go into the process of doing auditions for Rogue One, the director said to me, I want to do a film in this universe that tonally feels very realistic, close to what you guys did in Ytu Matambien. And I was like, what?

[Diego Luna]

Are you okay?

[Conan O'Brien]

The man exactly. Who was saying this, specifically, Gareth Edwards, the director, who I owe him, being here talking about Andor because he had the idea he shot in Mexico a film he loved, Itumama Tambien, and he was crazy enough to think that there was room for me in that project. I couldn't really believe it. I make the joke a lot of times about I was sitting there going, like, what does he want from me? Does he want the number of an actor? Or, like, does he want me to help him with Gael or what? You know, I don't even speak English, you know, I mean, what is this about? And he was like, very honest. And saying, like. And he got an amazing cast of people that were doing the cinema I was doing, but in their context, you know, Felicity Riza med Mads Mikkelsen. It was a cast of people that were doing tiny films in their countries and dramas that were all about the storytelling. Anyway, so I went into doing that, and I freaked out. I was like, wow, this is amazing because I can still be myself. And I have to thank Lucasfilm and Disney and everyone because they gave us the tools, but then the freedom to. So it felt like I was just on a set of a film that I've been my whole life. I felt the same freedom. I didn't feel like, oh, shit, we have to now behave differently because we're doing this gigantic project.

[Diego Luna]

Well, I think that also the moral of the story is sometimes a big popular movie can be fantastic. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? There's a integrity. Yes. There can be a reverse snobbery sometimes of, oh, this is a popcorn movie. This is gonna be huge. Everyone's gonna love it. No. Yes. People are gonna love it. A lot of people are gonna see it. It's a big franchise, but. And it's now this television series, and it is beautifully acted. The story is so well told. And what's so fascinating to me is Cassian, your character. It makes sense to me because of the story. The backstory of Rogue One is he comes from this other place and he doesn't belong. And so there's something that lines up very neatly with someone coming from, in your case, Mexico, you know, and you are coming from a different land and trying to struggle to figure out what your place is in it. So it all makes sense. But it takes someone with vision to see that and go, we gotta get Diego Luna. And 99.9% of the people in the room would say, what are you talking about?

[Conan O'Brien]

That's. That's exactly what. What, Garrett.

[Diego Luna]

Including me. I'd have nixed it.

[Conan O'Brien]

I'd have.

[Diego Luna]

I'd have. They did call me because I had worked with you, and I said, I think it's a mistake.

[Conan O'Brien]

It's a mistake. He's very good version.

[Diego Luna]

I said, I'm more get him at.

[Conan O'Brien]

Telenovela, but.

[Diego Luna]

I'm more of a Cassian when you think about it. And they did some tests, and apparently not good.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, you don't fit in the cockpits. Also.

[Diego Luna]

My head. They had to cut a hole through spaceship.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, but it is. So I, I, I did realize on. On the process and of. On the process of, Of Rogue One and Then andor that it was more my prejudice speaking, you know that, because I think andor is a. It's a. It's a great example of. Of. Of. Of how things should be done. You know, it's like a. It is a gigantic project. It. It has a. A wonderful and very. But the way they did it is the way they do the films I love. You know, we are there because there's a perspective, a point of view, which is the creators. Tony Gilroy, the amazing writer and producer and director that is behind this, and we're following a leader and a voice, and if you commit to that, then that's integrity. That's where integrity comes from, you know, and then. Then this thing can fly and be huge. And obviously, we all get it. I mean, we're part of a community. People really want to see this. People really want this to be good, and they're expecting the best out of you, and you have to bring it. But it had that kind of sense of like, okay, we're working for a vision from beginning to end. And I was really pleased. And then many people. Many people think your life changes because of being part of a project like that. And it's true, but not in the way probably that people imagine. It changes because I'm a different person. I went through a revolution myself with this project. I'm part of a community. I got to work with people that are as talented as it gets, and I got to learn. But then you go back to your life, and your life is the same. I go back and I want to do a tiny little film about. About this particular event or character, and I don't go out there and find money to do it. And, you know, they go like, oh, no, that one. No, not for that one. You know.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it doesn't change. And in a way, that's refreshing.

[Conan O'Brien]

It is, because you can still be yourself, and you can go through an experience like this and be transformed in the best possible way, but then also go back to who you were without having to. To leave something behind or don't. Yeah, to avoid being back, you know, as if it was a bad thing. To me, it's the opposite.

[Diego Luna]

I've always found it very, in a way, refreshing that I'll have a moment. I'll have a moment that's supposedly like a big moment or something in my career. And then the next day, someone will say, oh, I saw you host the Oscars last night, and then you did a really good job.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, you did a good job.

[Diego Luna]

But I'll say, thank you very much. And they'll say, and you can't park there.

[Conan O'Brien]

Exactly.

[Diego Luna]

And. And I go, oh, oh, I'm sorry. And you're like, oh, good. Nothing's. It's gravity. Gravity is always acting on you. Beach bodies are cool. I mean, trust me, nobody knows that more than I do. I take my shirt off, I just flex and my shirt rips apart, just flying off my body like there's been an explosion. But guess what? Well, rested bod are cooler. Way less likely to get sidelined by back pain on a beautiful day this summer. Protect what really matters. Your spine. People think it's all about their tan. It's your spine. That's what people are checking out when you walk down the beach. Because sunburns, fades, but bad sleep sticks around. Ready to wake up feeling refreshed. I'm trying to see where this ad is going. Here we go. Jesus. I was on this road. It was twisting and turning. I was going deeper and deeper. Some dense woods. And then finally, I'm home. Mattress Firm offers a curated premium selection of mattresses. Make it easy to find the perfect upgrade since there's no one size fits all mattress. Mattress Firm sleep experts trained to match each customer with the right fit. Plus with Mattress Firm's 120 night sleep trial. Love it or get your money back if it's not the right fit. Sleep better, summer harder. Get matched at Mattress Firm's fourth of July sale and sleep at night. Text Conan to 766693 for $100 off your next purchase at mat mattressfirm.com or stores for more details. Let's talk about a word that gets thrown around a lot. Gringo. Okay, now first off, gringo is not about where you're from or what you look like. It's not a diss, it's a diagnosis. It means you're doing it wrong. You know what I'm saying?

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Diego Luna]

Gran Centenario. The number one tequila in Mexico. I'm getting a thumbs up from Eduardo that I said it right. That's a hell of an endorsement since Mexicans know tequila. Handcrafted in Jalisco, Family owned and with centuries of heritage. No gimmicks, just smooth, rich tequila made the real way. And it's Mexico's number one tequila, not number two, not number dos or numero dos. Not pretty good. Number one, uno. The reposado is so good. Aged in oak barrels. And it's so smooth. Not burn your soul on the way down. Strong, warm notes of agave toasted. Almond and dignity, my favorite flavor. Dignity. Hey, waiter. This soup could use a little more dignity. So next time you're reaching for tequila, skip the gringo stuff. Try a Gran centenario reposado. That tequila Mexico drinks. Gran Centenario tequila. 40% alcohol by volume. Proximo. Proximospirits.com well, I want to cede the floor to Matt for a second because Matt is a huge.

[Conan O'Brien]

He's falling asleep.

[Diego Luna]

No, no, no.

[Matt Gourley]

I'm so relaxed listening to you guys talk. I'm serious. I could spend all day.

[Diego Luna]

I don't know that you should sleep, but I just. It's only fair and right because Star wars and all of it means so much to you. And this is. I know that you have raved about. You mean when you saw Rogue One. Just. You think that. Oh, they've really, They've really. It's. They've made a beautiful, beautiful movie.

[Matt Gourley]

Particularly Andor and Rogue One. And what you and Tony Gilroy and all the other actors are doing is so damn enjoyable and so good. I mean, it's just. That's all I have to say.

[Diego Luna]

No, but I mean, you were in a very happy place today because Diego was coming in and I know what I've noticed about, about Andor is that I don't again. There are some shows that are part of a big franchise that kind of demand, you know, X, Y and Z. And I remembered going to see. When I was a kid, my brother Luke and I went to see the movie Dune. This with Kyle McLaughlin in whatever it was 1980 or something at the Hearthstone Plaza theater, which isn't even a theater anymore. I think it's a pot dispensary. Because everything, everything that I grew up with is now a pot dispensary. Except the pot dispensary is now an atm. But. But I remember we got there and they handed you a little booklet that you had to read before you could watch the movie that explained, okay, this is the sp. And I thought, what the fuck is this?

[Matt Gourley]

I think that's just because what David lynch did to that story.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah, God bless his soul. But anyway, I like him.

[Matt Gourley]

Don't get me wrong.

[Diego Luna]

Don't get me wrong. You and your anti David lynch propaganda. I won't have it. But. But what I love about Andor is you can know absolutely nothing. And it's just great storytelling, really great storytelling and terrific acting. And then, man, you get to sit.

[Matt Gourley]

In a TIE fighter. What's that like?

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, boy. Yeah, we got to that.

[Diego Luna]

You be quiet.

[Conan O'Brien]

The TIE Fighter. Yeah. It's a special prototype, right?

[Diego Luna]

Sure is.

[Conan O'Brien]

It was fascinating because. Because things actually work. And you guys can go, we got this.

[Diego Luna]

No, I want to hear. So when you say things actually work, what do you mean?

[Conan O'Brien]

You. You turn on the. A button and a light comes on. The. The screens are showing you, you know, information you can relate and communicate, you know, with. With the object.

[Diego Luna]

I didn't know that. It's.

[Conan O'Brien]

It's we. And. And I don't know. I mean, I'm not sure how they do every Star wars show, but ours is very mechanical. It's very much like a homage to the filmmaking that started the whole thing. You can feel it. So we are interacting with props, with real pieces of the stage is real. It's built. You have to wait till it's built. You have to use it, and then they bring it down. There's a whole process and there's a whole design behind things. Things don't get decided later. You know, they don't tell you, like, just turn buttons and pretend you're flying and then we'll figure it out. No, there's a reason. There's things on the right, things on the left. If you move these forward, it has to be like this. And also you. You. There's someone behind the design, so there's someone defending the design and telling you and walking you through what you are about to use. You know, therefore it's. It's like actually happening and you're in a platform that actually moves right and the thing moves right, left, down, up, you know, if you're hit, it shakes ever.

[Matt Gourley]

Like your father, where you're just like, oh, he's messing up my designer.

[Conan O'Brien]

Many times. I'm sure that happened many times and some. And sometimes you have screens in front of you, so you are looking at what's. What's going to be there, you know, somehow. So it is a. Putting together of the. Of the show takes a long time because there's a lot of work behind everything. And that, again, is because it has to do with the vision. The way Tony writes is very special. You'll be interested in this. He doesn't write a scene where they go like, okay, they're doing a podcast in a studio. And he sits down with the set designer and says, okay, how big is the studio? Okay. And they design a studio and a piece of paper and they go like, okay, they'll have a table with four microphones. Over there is gonna be the computer. There's three seats there. So when he's writing the set, he's describing a space that already exists and that is being designed for this. Therefore, everything has a reason, everything has a purpose, and things are already designed when he's writing. And he's the master, I believe, of collaboration. Because somehow, in that moment, it's not just his material, it's also the production designer's material, because his vision is already in the page. So when you get to the place and you read a line and a direction, it makes sense. You go like, oh, okay, I get it now. I get it.

[Diego Luna]

But it informs. It's a collaboration between. Because your acting then is a collaboration between. All this work that's happened before, you even show up to set.

[Conan O'Brien]

Definitely.

[Diego Luna]

And one of the things that always. Because I'm old enough to remember what it used to be, science fiction used to be shiny and clean, meaning spaceships always were kind of. Of shiny and Buck Rogers everything. And people wore these immaculate spacesuits. And that was what we knew as science fiction. And if you watch 2001, that's how it is. And then I want to say Blade Runner was kind of a revelation because as we all know, in real life, cars are rusty or dirty or banged up or dented. And then in Star wars, you saw that things are kind of retrofitted. They're kind of holding it together with tape. You know, the Millennium Falcons got some problems. Some of the robots or the droids are kind of dirty. They've been banged around a little bit. And I remember that being a real revelation. And what you really see in Andor and in Rogue One, too, is also just this idea that stuff. These are machines that get used. They have to be fixed. They have to be repaired. People are. There's dirt everywhere. Things get fucked up. And that informs the story a lot. Do you know what I mean? Clearly, it's an. And it makes it, to me, more real. It makes it very real. And it's different than the science fiction I grew up with.

[Matt Gourley]

It's just so tactile. The world that you guys have created and you just feel like all exists for real. How much of it is on location or at least exterior, right? Because the wind's blowing and it doesn't feel like a studio or it's all.

[Diego Luna]

Cleveland, all of it. And you don't have to do anything to Cleveland. It just looks like the first season.

[Conan O'Brien]

We had in mind was it was gonna be a shoot that we were gonna travel around the world hoping to be in amazing locations and again, be a homage to filmmaking. You know, allow the accident of the real location to be part of the result, you know, and the creative process to be influenced by what happens when you're out there and you can't control everything. But then the COVID came and we had to. We had to adjust and we did a very. A show that happened mostly on studio because we had to be there, you know, and we started building things in the studio and they built Ferrix completely, like the whole town. And it's a town like, you can get lost in Ferrix. I mean, Adria talks about getting lost in Ferrix and it did happen. Like you can. It's so wonderful.

[Diego Luna]

And.

[Conan O'Brien]

And. But it's. Again, it's a design that Luke hall did next to Tony, and Tony understood the logic of that city perfectly and then started writing for the city. And the city gave you everything, gave you alleys, big streets, stores, food. You know, the restaurants, the hotel, the place where you would need to hide do exist. And they're the size for you to actually play that scene there. You don't have to, like, you know, you can shoot in order and allow things to actually happen. That's how we did the first season. Then we went to Scotland for a bit when we were allowed to travel and to the mountains, and it was beautiful. And again, you can't control everything. There's a scene where we are supposed to be in the top of the mountain, seeing where we are gonna hit the next day to do the big robbery, you know, and we get to the mountain, there's just a. You can get in cars to one point. And then we had to walk and we get with all the equipment at the top of the mountain and there's a huge cloud not moving.

[Sona Movsesian]

Oh, no.

[Conan O'Brien]

And we go like, oh, God. And it signifies those scenes, you know, you have a scene with Nemik talking about how much fear he has for what's coming. And it adds because, yes, I'm scared too. We can't even see where we're going. This is crazy. You know, but the scene just becomes that scene.

[Diego Luna]

There's no telling the cloud. Hey, this is Lucas.

[Conan O'Brien]

Lucasfilm.

[Diego Luna]

I mean, come on, move along, cloud.

[Conan O'Brien]

Exactly. Kathleen Kennedy send a note. No, it's not. And the beauty of this is that it brings all the attention to where it has to be. Everyone is focused on, okay, how do we tell the story? How do we tell the story? Because also, we know the story story. But by that point, there is no. There is a secrecy, you know, out of the bubble. But for us, we're all very much invested in the same story that Tony Gilroy wants to tell, you know.

[Matt Gourley]

That's great. I'm just sad this is the last season.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, sad but relieved. No.

[Matt Gourley]

Yes.

[Conan O'Brien]

Also because it's hard to. No, no. But not. Not in terms of like, oh, I want to be at home. No, it's just like, it's. It's. It's not easy to. To get something right. Yeah. So when it happens, it's nice that you keep it. That. That. Let me put it this way. I think TV is. Has brought great things, you know, it's a great place for. For young talents to find their voices. It's. It's wonderful. It's taking all the risks cinema stop taking, you know, which is great. But there's one thing I don't like, which is things start without knowing where they're going to end. Everyone's talking about the next season, and probably there's another one. And there's an anxiety of, like, how much more can we achieve? And it's nice to start something knowing where it ends. Therefore, you throw everything in, you know, you put everything there. And if you succeed, you celebrate, and if you don't, you learn and you try again. But. But knowing the ending of the story allowed us to. Yeah, to work this tough in detail, in all those layers that you can bring in. But I remember we sat down in the first season half the way of the shoot in Scotland, Tony and I, and he was like, we can't do five seasons of this. It takes two years and a half of our lives. I'm gonna be 60 years old, pretending I'm the guy I was in 2016. Impossible. So how do we do this? And he came up with the idea of doing these four blocks, because our goal was, let's tell the story of the five years before Rogue One and then finish this story the moment Rogue One starts. Right. That was the goal. So he came up with this idea of, in the second season, move through four years of the life of these characters and get to the point. Point that we promised at the beginning. And that was such a relief because then suddenly we understood that it was possible that we had to aim for another three and a half years of work. But we were gonna make it, you.

[Matt Gourley]

Know, which is great, because that's what Rogue One does, is it goes right up to the end before Star wars, too. So they all just connect so seamlessly.

[Conan O'Brien]

Rogue One is a prequel. Then we did a prequel, and it's. Yeah. So this is the prequel of the prequel Right.

[Diego Luna]

A repeat equal.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, exactly. We got very technical. Now everyone's like, oh, no.

[Diego Luna]

I do think. And this is like.

[Matt Gourley]

And I appreciate that little tangent, by the way.

[Diego Luna]

Thank you. Yeah, no, it wasn't little at all. And you're fired. You're fired. So you'll now work with. You'll go with Diego. Really?

[Sona Movsesian]

Yeah.

[Diego Luna]

He's now. You live with him now. Okay. I do think people talk.

[Matt Gourley]

I don't eat a lot.

[Sona Movsesian]

It's just work. You live with him, people.

[Diego Luna]

I like that. Diego has no say in it, either one instead, so. And then, I mean, bunk beds. You're in Mexico City in bunk beds. Oh, good night, Matthew.

[Matt Gourley]

Just one more thing about Cassidy.

[Diego Luna]

Go to sleep. You know, it does. People talk about this a lot, but. And. And it can almost sound like a cliche, but it's so powerful that when you said you didn't see yourself in any of the Star wars, in the Star wars world when you were growing up, and it seemed like an impossibility to you that someone like you coming from where, you know, from Mexico City, could be in that world, Think of how powerful that is to millions of kids who are seeing you in this franchise. And what's fascinating is that it has. Your role has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you grew up in Mexico. You know what I mean? It has nothing to do with that. You're just a great actor. The more that happens in different cultures, I can't prove it, but I feel like it's the answer to a lot of our problems.

[Conan O'Brien]

I agree with you. I think it's. If I think about the reference I grew up watching, following, and hoping one day I could be like them compared to the ones that my kids are growing up with. It feels much diverse, interesting reach today, you know, and things are changing and getting there. And I always, like, I always want to bring it back to where I think everything started happening, which is. It's because of the audience, is because the audience started to have a voice, you know, and now all these tools that we have, there's terrible and dangerous in many ways, but they are also very useful. And one. One very useful thing they do is that you can send messages. You click or you buy a ticket and you're sending a message, and the industry has to listen because they want you to keep clicking. And if you ignore. If you decide not to click not to buy the ticket, you're also sending a message. So it's audiences who are somehow reshaping what the industry is talking about, what voices are There, what stories get to be made. It's still a process. We're not there yet, but. But the idea. I grew up, like, watching those films where every decision in the movie business was made behind the desk and someone was like, this is what they want to see. Big cigar, you know, Big cigar.

[Diego Luna]

Here's what we're gonna do. See, Exactly.

[Conan O'Brien]

You got it right.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

And today it's not like that. Today's people at home, you know, clicking or not clicking, paying attention or not paying attention. So if we as audience act with responsibility, the responsibility that this, you know, tool brings or gives you, we are having something to say on this industry that somehow, for a long time, it didn't seem to talk to us, and now it is. So I think it's cool. I think I'm part of something big. I see many people coming from where I come from, having an opportunity. You were just talking about how cool it was to travel with Javier in Spain and meet. And it is happening. It is happening somehow. And again, I think we can be really proud because it's a moment where you can be yourself. I grew up with people telling me, are you going to work on your accent? Are you going to clean your accent? And I was like, clean your. Well, I mean, why do you think it's dirty? Or what's wrong with my accent? My accent is. Mine might not be yours, but when I was 20, that was. The thing is, like, okay, you're doing great. What if you start working on your accent and you start sounding like these other people and you can start doing what they can do? And today is a moment where that is changing, I think. I mean, I'm here because I bring what I am, you know, and that's what got me here. I might not be there and not there, but I'm here because you're exactly.

[Diego Luna]

Where you're supposed to be and where you should be. Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

And that's kind of like a cool idea and message. And also things are happening where sometimes you can do something in another context that not even thinking of traveling and that can resonate with someone here or in Europe or in Japan or whatever. And so there's also a respect and a search for a specificity that today is really cool in the movie making.

[Diego Luna]

Well, I'm very proud to call you a friend. I'm honored. It was one of the great honors of my life that you came on my show in. In Mexico City and blessed our kooky project there. Just delighted. Delighted to have you here. And I love what you Represent. You're an artist and you're a really good guy and just a pleasure, absolute pleasure to have you here and please come back and let's have an adventure together. I'll take you to Scotland.

[Conan O'Brien]

Scotland. So much water. It's incredible.

[Diego Luna]

Scotland. That is not what the tourist bureau says. Scotland, Catlin.

[Conan O'Brien]

So much water, but also, I think so green man. It is beautiful.

[Diego Luna]

I and I. So I accept your invitation to return to Mexico City and appear on a telenovela with you. And live with you. I think that was mentioned at some point.

[Conan O'Brien]

That was mentioned.

[Matt Gourley]

I get to live with you.

[Diego Luna]

No, no, I'm.

[Sona Movsesian]

Triple bunk bed.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah, triple bunk bed. You should come, too.

[Matt Gourley]

I'm out.

[Diego Luna]

No, you're gonna ask a lot of. You're gonna wake us up at night to ask him questions about Andor and that bullshit is not happening. And I'm gonna ask you and I'm gonna wake you up to correct you on your accent.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes, please.

[Diego Luna]

Spanish.

[Conan O'Brien]

Very, very important. No, thank you so much because.

[Diego Luna]

Yeah, yeah. This was so much fun. And come back soon, Diego.

[Conan O'Brien]

I will.

[Diego Luna]

And thank you for everything. Seriously, great to have you here.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, man. Thank you. Thank you all.

[Matt Gourley]

Conan o' Brien needs a friend With Conan o' Brien Sonam of session and Matt Gourley Produced by me, Matt Gourley executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross and Nick Leow. Theme song by the White Stripes, incidental music by Jimmy Vivino. Take it away, Jimmy. Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair and our associate talent producer is Jennifer. Samples, engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez and Brendan Burns. Additional production support by Mars Melnick. Talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Batista and Britcon. You can rate and review this show on Apple Podcasts and you might find your review read on a future episode. Got a question for Conan? Call the Team Coco hotline at 669-587-2847 and leave a message. It too could be featured on a future episode. You can also get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign [e-mail] Conan and if you haven't already, please subscribe to Conan O' Brien needs a friend. Wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.

[E]

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[Diego Luna]

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