Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna grew up as friends in Mexico City, but that dynamic started to shift when they were cast together in Alfonso Cuarón‘s raunchy coming-of-age tale “Y tu mamá también.” Not only were they face with exchanging intimate moments with one another onscreen, but off-screen, the film would propel the two young actors into international stardom, kickstarting both of their careers, which have now lasted over two decades. In that time, Bernal and Luna continued to collaborate and remain close friends, acting together in Carlos Cuarón’s “Rudo y Cursi” and the Will Ferrell Spanish-language comedy “Casa di Mi Padre.” Now, they’re reuniting once more for the Hulu limited series “La Máquina,” which follows a battle-scarred Mexican boxer (Bernal) whose charismatic manager (Luna) sets out to reignite his career.
Speaking in a recent interview with The New York Times, García Bernal and Luna shared how, despite their friendship and history of working together is well known, the opportunity to collaborate with one another has rarely been offered by others. In truth, both look forward to performing opposite each other, as it has only ever brought them closer together. When asked what their dynamic would be like without acting, Luna said, “I think we would be more like friends in that case. We are now closer to brothers.”
“La Máquina” came about as an idea García Bernal and Luna came up with more than 10 years ago in an effort to work together once again. Luna had made a documentary about Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez (“J.C. Chavez”) and García Bernal was in boxing training, so they used this passion as a launchpad and wrote a script with Julián Herbert, initially conceiving it as a film. Eventually they expanded it into a limited series and brought the project to Searchlight Pictures and Hulu. As executive producers on the show through their production banner La Corriente del Golfo, there is a business element to their relationship, but from the very beginning, the project has been rooted in a desire to remain close.
“It would be easy to tell you, ‘It’s a daily decision to work on our friendship,’” said Luna. “But it’s simply something neither of us can give up. I don’t want to, but even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to. That’s what’s badass about it. Friendships can sometimes be very intense. Sometimes you need space. Sometimes you confront each other. And all of that has happened to our friendship, and yet we are still here. Because ours is a profound bond of which we’ve lost control. Even if we tried to avoid each other, life would say, ‘No chance, dude.’ And that’s because this bond was forged by the love that our mothers had for each other. In a way, we inherited their friendship.”
All episodes of “La Máquina” stream on Hulu October 9.
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