A breakout role has been landed by Mexican actor Diego Calva
Nominated for a 2023 Golden Globe for the role of Manny Torres in Babylon, Mexican actor Diego Calva has made a huge leap from television to film. The same kind of movie fervor that propelled his character in the upcoming comedy-drama to a more important position in Hollywood is largely responsible for his success as an actor.
The 30-year-old Mexican actor who co-stars in the Hollywood blockbuster with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie wants audiences to remember the early Latino film pioneers who helped create Hollywood and have been mostly forgotten.
“It was pretty cool to put a face to a successful Mexican in that time,” Mexican actor Diego Calva told NBC News when referring to his role as Manny Torres in Babylon, who works from an assistant to a film producer. “Latinos, we were always here, you know, working on this.”
Damien Chazelle, the Academy Award-winning director of the critically acclaimed films La La Land and Whiplash, oversaw the arduous casting and training process that Calva underwent in order to secure his part in Babylon. Chazelle said he was “really lucky to stumble upon Diego” and that he considers the young actor to be a “true movie star.”
As they focused down on Mexican actor Diego Calva’s character and created a shorthand that would assist him with his crucial role, Calva eventually traveled to Los Angeles to work with Chazelle. He remained at the director’s home during this time.
Acting may not even be Calva’s only love for movies. While attending college and majoring in filmmaking, he also made a handful of his own short films. In addition to Babylon, viewers will recognize him from Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico in which he portrayed Arturo Beltrán Leyva.