Criminal is the American retelling of the Argentine film Nine Queens. The directorial debut of Steven Soderbergh’s assistant director, Gregory Jacobs, stars Diego Luna as an aspiring con artist taking under the wing of a professional, played by John C. Reilly. Luna said he did not feel any particular ties to the original Latin film.

“I felt the responsibility of having a good script in my hands that, if it doesn’t get to be a good movie then it’s your fault, definitely,” Luna said. “[I saw the original] after we wrapped this one. I bought the DVD a week before we started shooting and I was going to watch it. In fact, Greg and Steven said to me, ‘You shouldn’t. Think about it’. And it was true. The actor was so good on that movie that I was going to be thinking about all the choices he made through the movie. And, the approach I had for the character was my own approach and I thought it felt right for the movie. Then I watched the Argentine one and I thought it was a great movie and the actors are great. I’m glad I didn’t watch it [first].”

The thing about con movies is that the heroes are seedy, conniving characters. Making them sympathetic is tricky for an actor, but Luna met that challenge. “I think basically, he’s a normal guy, a real guy. He does bad things and good things and I just think for him, it’s a family business and it’s about love. But I don’t think he’s good. I don’t think I would like to have him around.”

Reilly’s character comments that Luna looks like a nice guy. Luna agreed, jokingly. “I think so, yeah. I’ve seen worse. For Rodrigo, it definitely works. For me, sometimes, if I want to play the bad guy, it doesn’t work at all.”

Con movies also toy with the audience and their perceptions of characters’ motivations. Luna had to maintain a balance of what his character is perceived to want and what he really wants. “My character is risking a lot. It’s got to work. If you now see the movie again, you realize what he’s thinking and what he can lose in one second. There are so many levels to the story and everything means so many things. Basically both characters are performing the whole time. There’s just a few moments that are totally true and really happening. It’s a movie that you can watch once and watch it again and learn different things and understand why things are happening. It was really fun as an actor because there was so much going on at the same time. One thing I would say would mean one thing for you and another for [someone else]. We decided, ‘Okay, this thing is really happening and this is part of the con’. It was very exciting and very tough and very complex and Greg was really clear about what he wanted.”

Luna toured the streets of Los Angeles in preparation for the city-based film. As he and Reilly wander the streets, pursuing different angles on the con, it helped Luna to familiarize himself with the geography. “I really got to know L.A. finally, that L.A. is not just the west side and promotion, hotels and the big theaters. There’s a city, lots of people and it’s a very weird city because there are so many races, so many accents, so many languages in the same place but they don’t share. There are so many little frontiers inside L.A. It’s weird. You don’t see that in movies. You see a movie about Mexicans or cholos or about Americans but this movie is about L.A. and L.A. is another character and I like that because it’s an honest way of saying that we should celebrate the differences instead of making frontiers between us.”

Still bouncing forth between English and Spanish films, the Mexican crime film Nicotina just released in the states, Luna finds no difference working in either language. “It’s not different. At the end, it’s exactly the same. Once they say ‘action’, it’s not anymore about the money and not anymore about the business or the industry or anything. We don’t have an industry but when they say ‘action’ it’s just actors reacting to what is happening and that’s what makes movies unique. The smallest movie can be the biggest for you. I don’t find anything different. The only difference here is people live from movies in this country and in my country people do movies because they love movies and sometimes you have to pay to do movies. In the end, it’s the same, you just need a good story.”

Still at home in Mexico City, Luna refuses to move to Hollywood. “I like Mexico and it’s a three hour flight, really close. I have lots of things to do in Mexico and people that I want to work with and my friends and family. I’m staying there for sure.”

The few times he gets to work there, such as the upcoming God Only Knows are dream situations. “It’s the best. That’s where I decided to be an actor and there’s lots of reasons in that country for me to go back. Lots of people I love and admire. I wish we had a bigger industry. Every time I can be there to help and try to make things happen, I’ll be there. With this movie, we have more producers than actors. I’m co-producing with so many people. It’s not a business yet in my country, which is a shame but I still have the chance to work there. It happens once your career starts to go well outside of Mexico, it’s easier.”

Ever since the groundbreaking and starmaking Y Tu Mama Tambien, Luna has been a sought after actor, starring in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Open Range and The Terminal. It has all been a thrilling road for Luna.

“I was surprised. I was never expecting what happened with that movie and since then I’ve been able to just do movies and theater and be in projects that I want to be in and that I believe in. I’m traveling with my work and promoting my work. Yeah, my life is much better. I’m really happy finally doing what I want to do. I haven’t had to work for money since then. It’s nice.”

As pressures and expectations rise, Luna tries to keep everything in perspective. “I like when people appreciate what you do. We tell stories for people to hear the stories we want to tell. It’s great to have people wanting to know what you’re doing. I like the fame when it comes from your work. When it’s because you did something that people want to talk about. I hate fame just like FAME, that sounds like of pathetic and makes your life a very lonely life. If you need to be famous to be happy, it’s stupid. I need to act and tell stories and work and meet people and make families. That’s what I like about my job and then, if people want to see that, it’s great. If not, I already had a great time.”