Hayden Christensen and Diego Luna Discuss ‘Star Wars’ for Variety’s Actors on Actors 2023
Variety hosts the Actors on Actors show every year, and this year we were lucky enough to see Hayden Christensen and Diego Luna talking candidly about their connection to the Star Wars franchise. The two Star Wars actors go beyond what we already know to give us a glimpse of their own journey into a galaxy far, far away.
Variety has the entire Actors on Actors episode on YouTube, but we thought we’d take the best parts of their discussion and highlight them for you here.
Both actors are very close in age (Diego Luna is 43, and Hayden Christensen is 42), and after spending so many years in the film and TV industries, they have unique and inspiring views on what Star Wars has done for them as actors. Christensen was no stranger to the bright lights, having started his acting career in Canada at an early age. Luna grew up with a passion for theatre, expanding to film and TV.
We know them as Cassian Andor and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the films and Disney Plus TV series Andor and Kenobi, respectively. Luna flew from the London set where he is currently filming season two of Andor so he could have this discussion with Christensen.
CHRISTENSEN: I’d really love to hear about how you got into “Rogue One.” You were already a very established actor.
LUNA: It was the first time such secrecy happened around anything I was going to be part of. I was asked by my agent to meet someone for something that couldn’t be said on the phone. I went into a meeting in a restaurant that was completely empty. There was a guy sitting in the corner with a computer open, and this was Gareth [Edwards], the director. I sat down with him, and it was just us for four hours.
CHRISTENSEN: So you had no concept that it was “Star Wars” at all at this point?
LUNA: My agent said, “This might be ‘Star Wars.’” I guess she didn’t want me to get excited about anything. Gareth explained to me the whole film, and he said at the end, “I would really like you to play this role.” I said to him, “But I don’t see myself here. I love these films, but how do I fit here? No one has my accent. I’ve never thought this could be possible.” He basically said, “Since I saw ‘Y tu mamá también,’ I thought you could be great for a role like this. I want that kind of tone in the film. I want that realism, that feeling that it’s everyday life.” I never thought that a film like “Y tu mamá también” would get me the chance to be in the world of “Star Wars.”
CHRISTENSEN: That’s what I love about it. It’s a much darker and more grounded sort of take. I think it was very important for “Star Wars.” I love your performance. There’s so much subtlety to it and nuance to it, which you can’t always get in stories like these. How was that for you?
LUNA: Thank you. It was something that we reminded ourselves every day on “Rogue One.” And on “Andor,” we took even further, the idea of you have to forget this is “Star Wars.” Tony Gilroy was very specific, always. Every time you had to explain too long what you wanted to do, he would be like, “There’s no room for that. It has to be simple. It has to be easy. It has to be real.” It was a constant reminder every day. If it started to feel imposed or weird or from “a galaxy far, far away,” then we were doing the wrong thing.
CHRISTENSEN: I thought that my “Star Wars” days were behind me, and then I got a phone call inviting me to come back. I would imagine maybe you had a similar thing with when you finished “Rogue One.” Did you know were going to get to continue with it?
LUNA: It was a joke on set: “One day, we should tell how these people got here.” But we never took it seriously. We didn’t know if the film was going to be liked or if we were going to be the film no one went to see. We had to wait for the film to come out to understand that there was room for something like this.
CHRISTENSEN: It was one of my favorite “Star Wars” films.
LUNA: Oh, man!
CHRISTENSEN: And “Andor” is so successful, too. It’s a great origin story for the beginning of the rebellion and getting to see the arc of your character and how he starts off at this place where he doesn’t really want anything to do with any of this. He just wants to keep to himself. But his destiny is calling.
LUNA: I think it’s because you know what he’s capable of. So the interesting journey is how far can we start from that? How lost can he be? It’s a show about his flaws and that contradiction that makes us real. We’re not always the best version of ourselves. It was nice to find him in the worst version of Cassian possible.
When you decided to come back for the “Obi-Wan” series, what was behind that decision?
CHRISTENSEN: Just the nature of getting the invitation. “Star Wars” holds a very special place in my heart. I enjoyed getting to go back to being a fan again and just watching these stories like everyone else. But there was a part of me that missed it, too. So when I got the call, it was a very easy decision. And the fact that it was the “Obi-Wan” show with Ewan McGregor, who is a good friend of mine, and that I’d get to swing a lightsaber with him again, it was a thrilling invitation. The director, Deborah Chow, is so articulate about what “Star Wars” is. She understands these characters so well. So I just felt like I was in good hands with her, and I was excited to get to do more with the character.
LUNA: That’s so— I mean, it’s not just a character, man. It’s the character.
CHRISTENSEN: It’s a good character! On “Andor,” you’re a producer as well. What’s that like?
LUNA: I would say a good 15, 20 years ago, I started to be very much aware of what was happening before and after [shooting] and very interested in being part of that. Sometimes acting, in a way, alienated you from the actual process of making film. Theater is the opposite. In theater, you were there from the first read until the moment where you’re packing the props and the costumes.
CHRISTENSEN: But as an actor you can get insulated in your character in a lot of ways.
LUNA: In film, yeah, and you arrive when most choices have been made. It’s nice to get involved from the beginning, from the moment where designs are just sketches, and your questions and comments can have an input.
CHRISTENSEN: How cool that you got to be a part of the process at such an early stage.
LUNA: So cool. This is 24 episodes. It’s going to be four-and-a-half years of our lives. So it’s the only way, because you have to own it. I took a flight last night to be here to talk to you, and I’ll take a flight right now to go back to work because I care about this show and because it feels mine. I want to defend what we do, and fight to make it better.
I do think that, for me, “Star Wars” brought freedom in many ways. But what did it bring to you?
CHRISTENSEN: I mean, it would be easier to count the ways that it didn’t affect my life. It gave me an acting career. It gave me financial stability, which as a creative person is something that you can struggle with. After I finished “Star Wars,” there was still a desire for me to go back to smaller, more independent filmmaking and just try to cut my teeth as an actor. Because I was still learning a lot. I just tried to not think about navigating a career as much as I was just trying to do work that appealed to me, and play characters that I thought would challenge me, and help me grow as an actor. That was a great freedom.
But what “Star Wars” has really given me is a connection to all the people that love these stories. That’s such a special thing that you can’t fully appreciate unless you’re a part of something like that. I mean, I meet people now and it makes me feel a little bit old, but they’ll say to me, “Anakin was my hero when I was a kid, and now my kid loves Anakin.” It’s this generational thing that gets passed down — and that’s really special.
How has “Star Wars” changed your life?
LUNA: I would say that has been a shock, in a good way — the love around this project and this universe. The expectation and the awareness about your show before you even finished. I’ve spent whole life trying to get people’s attention to say, “Hey, look, we have a film here, you might like it!” Here, it’s the opposite. It’s not just that they’re expecting the film or the show to come out, but they also want to love it. They want to feel part of what you are doing, that connection you don’t find anywhere else.
You also have to understand why it’s happening. You are part of something else. If you’re expecting that to happen when you put on this very strange play — and you suddenly go like, “Oh shit, no one came tonight”…
CHRISTENSEN: That’s really astute. To be aware that you’re a part of something that is bigger than you, I think is a healthy thing.
LUNA: It is. And enjoy the ride with them. Before I did “Rogue One,” I thought, My life is going to change. My life is the same, but I feel that it changed me. Now I’m different. I still do theater. I still do the films I can in my country. But now I see it from a different perspective. I grew up thinking that it was impossible to do something really good, something you feel really proud of, something that it has an artistic integrity — and be popular at the same time. I grew up in the Mexican theater, where fame and popularity happens when you sell out. After doing “Andor” and “Rogue One” and being part of the “Star Wars” family, I realized, no. You can have integrity, you can do things you care about, that I would like to see as audience — and those things can be popular and huge at the same time.
CHRISTENSEN: So after you finished “Rogue One,” did you get to keep any souvenirs? Usually everything goes into lockdown and then they send it to a museum somewhere.
LUNA: I got the jacket of the character. I really worked for that. I made jokes about it since day one. I was like, “I just got this job because this jacket fits me. Clearly, it’s all about the jacket.”
CHRISTENSEN: It’s a good jacket.
LUNA: And then the jacket had to be worn in Jordan at 45 degrees Celsius. I mean, it was impossible. I was sweating. But I’m sure you got a lot of the sweating also with the outfit.
CHRISTENSEN: With the Darth Vader outfit? Yeah, it’s a hot costume.
LUNA: Do you actually have a stick that becomes a lightsaber?
CHRISTENSEN: Oh yeah. Once we know the choreography, then we’re having a proper go at each other. Back when we were doing the prequels, the lightsabers were made of some type of metal alloy and after each take, they would be all warped and bent.
LUNA: You’re going for it.
CHRISTENSEN: Yeah, we’re hitting pretty hard. And you missed every now and then, too, and you’d get a hit on the knuckles or something. That always left a mark. But, I mean, getting to swing a lightsaber is pretty awesome. I got to keep a couple of them. One from the prequels, and then I got to keep two lightsabers from the “Obi-Wan” show — one Darth Vader, and one Anakin, because they’re a little bit different.
As soon as I finished “Andor,” I had to put on “Rogue One” again and get back into that. But man, I just wanted to say congrats on everything that you’ve done in “Star Wars,” and in your career in general. I think Andor is such an exciting character, and what you’ve brought to it is, I think, really special. It’s just really nice to get to be here with you and chat about it.
LUNA: It’s the other way around. And not just the films, but “Obi-Wan.” It was so reassuring to see your show work so well. It’s nice to be part of this family, and this crazy universe that connects three or four generations now.
CHRISTENSEN: It is a family, and I think one that stays with you for the rest of your life.
LUNA: You are part of a universe that somehow got me to do what I do. The weight and the richness of those films shaped me as a kid and as a teenager — and then as a young adult when yours came out. And now that I am part of this, I understand how much that story meant for me. It’s nice to have the opportunity to say it, because there are so many films that I love that I would never be in front of anyone that was part of them and say thank you. So thank you for that.
CHRISTENSEN: That’s so kind.
LUNA: When you said we are part of now of a family, now I know you’re in Toronto, I’m going to look for you. I’m going to be looking for my cousin. “Where’s my cousin?”
CHRISTENSEN: Man, the feeling’s so mutual. I’m such a fan of the work that you’ve done and the work that you’re continuing to do. You’re still filming the second season of “Andor,” and just as a fan, I’m so excited for it and can’t wait to see what’s next.
Diego Luna can be seen next in the second season of Andor, which is still currently in production in London. Hayden Christensen will reportedly be reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker for the Ahsoka series releasing on August 23 on Disney Plus.
Meet Julie Gray, a passionate pop culture writer from Aotearoa, New Zealand. A lifelong Star Wars fan, her love for the franchise runs deep, with Luke Skywalker being her all-time favourite character and Anakin Skywalker coming in as a close second. Her outlook on the Star Wars universe is simple yet powerful - "All Star Wars is good Star Wars", a true testament to her undying love for this iconic franchise.
