Diego Calva on Narcos: Mexico's Representation of His Country
"There’s a lot of truth and that’s amazing, but there’s a lot of lies, too."
Director Damian Chazelle warned Diego Calva that starring in his upcoming 1920’s Golden Age of Hollywood epic Babylon alongside heavyweights such as Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie would launch him into stardom. But fans of Narcos: Mexico might already recognize the relative newcomer as the Mexican drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva in six episodes of the show’s third season. Even though its one of his first big roles, Calva spoke out against how Narcos: Mexico represented his country.
Calva will star in Babylon as Manny Torres, a film fanatic from Mexico trying to make it in Hollywood just as silent movies gave way to talkies. Along the way, he finds camaraderie with two silent-era holdouts – silent film star Jack Howard (Pitt), as well as the it-girl Nellie LaRoy (Robbie). Since it’s the 30-year-old actor’s first big English-language role, Calva drew comparisons between himself and Torres – who both met and worked with superstars ultimately changing his life – within the same interview with GQ Magazine where he discussed his real feelings towards Narcos: Mexico.
“There’s a moment in your career as an actor that you really can’t choose your roles. You are just grateful that you’re having a job, and Narcos is a great show,” Calva said. “But in my case, it’s a little hard because the way they put the story of my country, I don’t agree at all. There’s a lot of truth and that’s amazing, but there’s a lot of lies, too. I think my country doesn’t need more narco culture and making these guys heroes.” Calva added when the show aired on Netflix, he remembers thinking to himself, “This is too raw. I don’t know if I really want to keep shooting people.”
Narcos: Mexico is a companion series to Netflix’s hit show Narcos, which chronicled the criminal exploits of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura) as well as several other drug kingpins plaguing the country through the years. The three-time Emmy nominee flagship series, ran from 2015 to 2017, with The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal taking the reins as Javier Peña. Narcos: Mexico, also ran for three seasons from 2018 to 2021, dramatizing the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel.
Chazelle’s Babylon marks a new career turning point for Calva, with the film marking his first major American film production. As his career moves forward, Calva shared that he wants to stay close to his roots. “My dream is to be part of Latin American cinema always,” he said. “My only fear right now is that maybe Latin directors are going to think, ‘That guy will never come back,’ and they are not going to call me.”
Babylon is set to open in theaters Dec. 23 from Paramount Pictures. Until then, audiences can catch Diego Calva in Narcos: Mexico, which is streaming on Netflix.
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