Q&A: Gael Garcia Bernal & Diego Luna

Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal (Credit: Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com)

When it comes to bromances, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna were ahead of the curve. Their potent 2001 road-trip drama "Y tu mamá también" launched the two little-known Mexican actors on the international film scene. What followed was a collective body of work as notable for its audacity (Bernal's cross-dressing turn in Pedro Almodóvar's "Bad Education") as its clunkers (Luna's "Dirty Dancing" retread—nope, not the time of our lives).

It's taken eight years, but the two childhood friends are back together on screen in "Rudo y Cursi," a soccer-themed comedy about a pair of small-town brothers who wind up playing for competing teams in the big city. The film also reunited the actors with the co-writers of "Y tu mamá": Alfonso Cuarón (who directed the previous film) serves as a producer, while his brother Carlos handles writing and directing duties.

In person, Bernal and Luna couldn't look more different. They're like a real-life Bert-and-Ernie act—one compact and earnest, the other lanky and prankish. But they seem cut from the same cloth. They finish each other's sentences, translate words for each other and even dress alike, arriving at a midtown Manhattan hotel wearing matching black sweaters. There are only two options to survive their fawning, zip-zing bromance: give in or get out of the way.

What was it like to work together again?
Gael Garcia Bernal: It was very nice to work together again as actors because before the film, we'd been putting up a production company called Canana, and we also have a documentary film festival in Mexico called Ambulante. We've been ping-poing... [looks at Luna]

Diego Luna: [Corrects him] Ping-ponging...

GGB: ...ping-ponging projects.

DL: But it was nice to be just actors again. It was nice just to be thinking about our characters, the scenes, and not to think about money or what was gonna happen.

A lot has happened since "Y tu mamá también," for one you've both directed films. Did you notice a change in each other while working on this movie?
GGB: The scope opened a bit more. On the set, we definitely have a much more 360 kind of view. We are aware of what's happening and how we can anticipate certain things, make things better, easier.

DL: I think the thing that has changed me the most is the editing process. I realized how much can be fixed in editing, how much cannot be fixed in editing. If the director is a guy who knows how he's gonna edit his film, then some of the decisions that director makes on set sound more logical. But Gael always says that it's the loneliest...

GGB: Position.

DL: ...position to be in cinema, when you're the director. And it's true—it's just happening in your head.

So much about "Rudo y Cursi" parallels your real-life relationship. What was the turning point for both of you when you realized that you'd become friends?
DL: I used to hate school, and I remember that the happiest moment of my life was when we were doing a play when we were 9 or 10. And I can say in that time that I did realize that this guy was gonna be my friend, that I could share this passion with him, [which] I couldn't share with anyone in school.

GGB: Definitely, that was a big turning point, that play. Because we decided to be friends in the journey. The only other person I could relate to—to the experiences I'd been living as an actor—is Diego. There's no other person that understands my reality better. And that was a decision. That was a turning point, but it was a conscious one.

What have you learned from each other throughout the process?
GGB: Acting is your work, but at the same time it's your life, and it gets all mixed up. Something that I admire a lot from Diego is that he's capable of having a good time, and that has inspired my approach in terms of acting and in life.

DL: Ha-ha-ha-haaaaa. I would say that every time I'm about to hit a wall, there's Gael telling me, "There might be a wall there." It's like sometimes, I tend to just... This is starting to sound like...

GGB: Therapy.

DL: Yeah, like a therapy session. [laughs] Basically I've learned about the commitment and the amount of...[speaks to Bernal in Spanish]

GGB: [Translates] Introspection.

DL:  ...introspection he goes through. It has taught me a lot.

In the film, a lot of the tension revolves around the penalty kick. Who would win in a penalty kick-off between you?
DL: Aaaaaah! Definitely Gael, because I'm the worst goal keeper. But I can tell you one thing: I score more goals than Gael.

GGB: It's true. Statistics say that. But you know, who gives him the passes? [Laughs]

Find showtimes for "Rudo y Cursi."