The Spanish Sensation, Javi Luna Snags A Leading Role In The Biggest Ecuadorian Box Office Movie Of The Year.
Before becoming a successful actor, model, social media influencer and singer, the Spanish-born star Javi Luna lived an everyday life as a grade A student.
One day, the American clothing line – Abercrombie and Fitch, approached Luna, and from here, this sparked a career path he never saw coming.
Now he is landing leading roles in Spanish films and television shows.
He claims it was luck, but today, Luna has emerged as one of the most talented international actors in the US.
His singing talent is equally admired, especially on YouTube, where he has garnered over 800 thousand subscribers and 10 million followers on TikTok alone.
Since then, he has been in the 2014 Argentinean Disney Channel show Violetta and snagged roles in a Yayo Herrero short film Safari.
Born in Madrid, Spain, the young sensation has landed himself in another leading role. Still, this time has joined writer and producer Orlando Herrera, who is taking the reigns as a director on an ambitious new feature called Misfit.
The remake forms part of a deal that sees trans-Atlantic creation studio 2bOriginals acquiring the rights to develop a remake of Netflix’s original Misfit movie in different territories.
The Spanish movie had a release date in late 2021 but ranked as the biggest box office movie of the year.
According to Variety, the Misfit franchise has now been remade in five territories, establishing it as the most remade Dutch original feature in the country’s cinematic history.
And now it is coming to the United States in the early spring of 2022.
After a three-week filming period completed in Quito, Ecuador, adhering to strict Covid-19 health and safety protocols, we touched base with Luna to find out what it was like to be a part of such an incredible production as the Latin American character – Justin.
Hi Javi Luna! Nice to have you back with us!
What was it like working with writer, producer and director Orlando Herrera?
It was amazing! From the casting process, I remember the movie producers, Bastian Manintveld and Arturo Yepez, called me and asked me to call the director. I was like yeah, of course. Five minutes before the call, they sent me this scene that I had to do. I met Orlando, and he was one of those people who was just pure talent.
I always say this, but it was the first audition where I had so much fun doing it. The movie was my first comedy where I played the character [Justin], who is very comedic. I was nervous, but my character found its voice thanks to Orlando.
He also plays a character in the movie, and it was amazing to see him work.
How do you think this Spanish-language adaptation brings something new to the story?
The story is a remake but is a Latin version of the movie, and you can feel a lot of different touches from a lot of countries in America. Even the cast is from all over America.
For example the final cast was Alicia Jaziz (Julia), me –Javi Luna (Justin), Mexico’s Gimena Gomez (Estela), Argentina’s Julián Cerati (Nico). Peru’s Raysa Ortíz, Ecuador’s Samara Montero, Colombia’s Amy Rodríguez and Nataly Valencia and Jorgue Ulloa from Ecuador.
We all brought a different kind of spice to the movie, and I think you can tell.
How do you relate to your character Justin as Javi Luna?
There are a lot of similarities between us. I play soccer, and my character is the captain of the soccer team. My character is the most popular guy in school– I wasn’t the most popular guy, but I had a lot of friends.
Even though everything around him may seem quite complicated, he always keeps having a good heart. This outlook on life is something that I have always loved. My parents always told me that the most important thing is to be a good person and I think that’s how you should live life—trying to do the best for everybody- like my character.
The most significant difference is that my character is way too innocent or straightforward.
When my character and Justin’s girlfriend [Estela] argued in the movie, he wouldn’t even realise they were fighting – I am more awake than that.
But we are very much alike. I guess you could say that Justin could be my alter ego.
What was challenging about bringing this script to life?
The comedy.
The characters I have always played have been more dramatic, but this one was pure comedy. That was the most challenging part for me.
But I was in great hands with the director, and he helped me a lot. Seeing other people watching the movie and laughing at the bits we worked on meant so much to me.
Without giving anything away, what’s your favourite line of dialogue?
I have a favourite one. One of the leading characters is trying to teach me to speak English to play in the final game of the soccer championship.
She says:
Hey, how are you?
Then I go:
You lost me at hello.
What do you do when you get a five-minute break during filming?
There were times when I wanted to concentrate, but my group of friends helped me get into character for the movie. We would even help each other prepare for the scenes. Creating this tight bond offset showed how close the characters were during filming.
Why do you want people to watch Netflix’s new Misfit remake?
With the whole pandemic happening, I feel like people need a feel-good movie where they can laugh and have some fun. We need to remind ourselves that we need to enjoy the little things in life. Life is more straightforward than what we think, and just reconnecting with that part of us is essential right now.
What’s next for you Javi Luna?
I have a new movie coming out in 2022 called God & Salsa, which is the complete opposite of Misfit. I am playing a depressed kid whose parents is divorced.
It is a movie that will help many teenagers. It was a challenge to film. My character goes through a lot in this movie.
Keep an eye out for Javi Luna in the Netflix remake film Misfit #eresotehaces, coming out this spring!
