Anyone who’s seen the first season of Andor knows the work Diego Luna puts into it. He’s run through the ringer both emotionally and physically, but the results are fantastic (and so are the reviews). Unsurprisingly, Luna recently revealed that he’s glad the show is coming to an end, if only for the sake of his mental stability.
The pace of filming for the show is brutal. There’s going to be a total of 24 episodes (12 per season) and he was still doing voice overs on the season 1 finale when it started airing, per Variety. Season 2 started filming just a month later.
“This is the last season for Andor, he said. “It is just a two-season show, which is really important for my mental health. But knowing this is the end, I want to enjoy it and get the best out of this experience.”
The grueling shooting schedule definitely takes a toll, but Luna said “there’s no time for the hangover. You wake up the next morning and there is always something to do.”
He handles the pressure in his own way. Lately, he’s been doing a two month theater production of Cada vez nos despedimos major, a small production that features Luna, a musician and some lamps.
“In a way, it has kept me sane. Theater is a great way to go back and put your feet on the ground and remind you what this is all about.”
Andor is a far cry from Luna’s origins in Mexican film, where actors are often asked to use their own vehicles and clothes in productions. “It was well known that if you were asked to do cinema, the last thing you would do is think of getting paid,” he said.
His commitment to the craft is somewhat rare for an actor cast in a huge show like Andor. He approaches each project the same way, however, and works to find something personal to hook himself into the character.
“That is the beauty of this job,” he said. “If there is something personal for each project, they become like stamps that remind you where you’ve been.”
This down to earth-quality, his ability to not overtake a scene but ride it like a wave, and his fierce devotion to truth has set him apart from his peers but also helped make Andor a rare feat in the Star Wars universe. It’s also won him a cadre of new devotees. Suffice to say, people love Cassian Andor.
“What this character does in Rogue One is quite remarkable, and what we are building shows what needs to happen in someone’s life to be willing to sacrifice everything,” he said. “For me, this has always been a story where the people bringing change, the ones you can call heroes, are just regular people doing extraordinary things.”
Andor season 2 doesn’t have a firm release date but it’s expected in the second half of 2024.