Diego Boneta during the presentation of his film At Midnight in January 2023 (Photo: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Paramount+).
When an artist is asked what sacrifices he has made to fulfill his dreams, some say that he has been away from his family for a long time, has changed his appearance for certain roles, some aesthetic arrangements, but there is nothing more intimate and personal, than you can change your own name as it happened Diego Boneta.
From a young age he began his history in the world of entertainment singing to later venture into acting and the universe of television, continuing to expand his dream towards cinema and streaming. Thanks to his performance in the Netflix-produced bioseries about Luis Miguel, the actor’s name (like that of the character he played) has been featured in every publication around the world you can imagine.
But Boneta would not have gotten that opportunity and recognition if, a decade earlier, while looking for his chance in Hollywood, he would have stuck to keeping his birth name, rather than shortening it and modifying it slightly so that it didn’t sound so Latin.
He confessed on Roberto Mtz’s Creative podcast, where he talked about how he prioritized his mother’s surname of European descent for his agents to “sell” in the demanding Hollywood industry.
Diego Boneta at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Most remember a teenager named Diego Andrés González Boneta, who triumphed in the children’s competition Código FAMA and later starred in the soap operas Alegrijes y rebujos, Misión SOS and Rebelde. At the same time, he was also looking for a musical career, his first desire in the world of entertainment.
But like any dream, this one morphed and his interests began to focus on cinema and it was there that he put his efforts with the idea of one day reaching Hollywood. “For years they haven’t cast me to do a film in Mexico because they said I don’t look Mexican.”, the actor recalls. The opportunity arose thanks to Carla Hool, a well-known Mexican casting director in Los Angeles who has cast casts for productions such as Coco, Narcos, Miss Bala and Innocent Voices and dozens more.
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Hool called Diego to invite him to try his luck in the film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, a role he didn’t get but gave him the confidence to break into the American market. In his eyes, being considered for the Pevensie brothers’ story was such a powerful card that he shouldn’t let it slip.
Reality hit him hard and he found that this casting was nothing compared to the challenge that lay ahead. “It was a slap in the face, how easy, starting from scratch, four auditions a week for two and a half years, I had absolutely nothing left, acting classes, learning about the industry, what is an agent, what is an agent manager,” says the actor .
Despite the preparation and talent already demonstrated in his country, there was something wrong with his presentation and it had to do with his name. “One of my agents is coming with me “Diego, let’s see, you’re Latino, you have two last names, right? Why don’t we try to go to one like Diego Boneta Pour Look what happened?’“That’s right, this little betrayal of his Latin American roots opened doors for him.
902010, Mean Girls 2, Pretty Little Liars were among the first works in which the “new” Diego placed his work, and soon came the film that everyone assured him Hollywood would surrender to the new talent: Rock of Ages , a musical comedy based on the Broadway play of the same name.
Country singer Julianne Hough starred alongside Diego, and the cast included Tom Cruise, Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul Giamatti and Alec Baldwin, with music by a variety of 1980s rock artists including Bon Jovi. Rosen, Joan Jett, Def Leppard, Poison, Twisted Sister etc. A perfect cocktail for a blockbuster movie.
It did not happen. “It was a great lesson for me because everyone was like, ‘Diego, this is going to change your life, it’s going to be the biggest hit, look at the cast.’ An important lesson is that you never have any expectations with any project.’ you never know’ (you never know), the only thing you can do is give 100%, whether it goes well or badly is out of your control “.
Diego Boneta with Zoë Kravitz and Adria Arjona at a Tiffany & Co. event in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Tiffany & Co.)
Despite the failure, Boneta kept trying and other productions considered: Scream Queens, Jane The Virgin, City of Dead Men… until Netflix came up with an irresistible proposition.
At another point in the conversation, Diego reveals that he was planning to tell the story of Luis Miguel’s life, but through a film and that he was already in talks with the singer’s team for that. However, Mark Burnett – with whom he had previously worked – and his bioseries project caught the performer’s attention on The Unconditional and Netflix, to which he was later invited and cast.
Luis Miguel, the series it ranked 8th in the most searched series on Google Mexico in 2018. In 2020, the search engine reported the bioseries and everything related to the sun became the main search topic in Spanish.
In addition, Netflix was responsible for programming the series in 190 countries, always in Spanish with the respective dubbing and taking approximately $35 million in the first season. Luis Miguel returned to his success and Diego Boneta experienced an international projection with an unprecedented Latino work.
Since then, Diego has starred in new projects such as Terminator: Dark Fate, The Bride’s Father, At Midnight, but none have brought him as much success as Luis Miguel.
In an attempt to reconnect with his Latino and Mexican roots, he ventured into the spirits world with the launch of Defrente Tequila, but it’s too early to tell if this will also become an industry favorite.