Diego Luna is thinking about time a lot lately. How it’s passing. And how it’s spent.
His latest project, “La Máquina,” which premieres Oct. 9 on Hulu and is the streamer’s first Spanish-language series, was first dreamed up by Luna and his longtime friend and collaborator, Gael García Bernal , as a feature film project more than a decade ago. But as the years wore on, the chance to turn this boxing story into a thrilling episodic series felt both obvious and exciting.
“I’m glad it took us time,” Luna tells The Times on a sunny afternoon in September at the Chateau Marmont. “Because I think the opportunity to talk about the career of a boxer and the relationship between him and his manager at the end of his career is really strong. It serves, in many ways, to reflect and establish parallels between that and what we go through as actors.
In our careers. In our journey in this business.” Esteban (García Bernal) knows his days as a professional boxer — as “La Máquina” — are numbered.
He can’t continue chasing the glory of years past. His body can’t keep up. Neither can his mind.
For his manager, Andy (Luna), that’s clearly a problem. And so, after Esteban loses a key fight against a famed newcomer, Andy insists on launching a comeback. The decision proves dangerous as both men end up at the mercy of unseen forces intent on getting payment for a debt incurred years before that helped make “La Máquina” into the celebrated and lucrati.