In his native Mexico, Diego Calva worked as a caterer, set dresser, boom mic operator, and production assistant before he decided acting was his calling. And boy was he right. He got Hollywood’s attention in the six episodes arch he did on Narcos: Mexico. Now he plays Manny Torres, the third lead in Damien Chazelle period piece Babylon working opposite Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt for Paramount Pictures. For his performance he has already garnered a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture-Comedy/Musical.
Calva studied filmmaking at el Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica(CCC), in Mexico City and worked as assistant director, and in the camera and electrical department on a few films. He also appeared in several independent films such as Te Prometo Anaquía, directed by Julio Hernandez. So the leap to starring in his first lead in a major Hollywood film was stunning.
Babylon is a tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess; it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood. In Babylon, Calva plays a young man who is working his way up the Hollywood latter, starting out as an assistant. He meets Nellie and together they navigate the ascend into Hollywood stardom.
Chazelle has high praise for Calva, stating in interviews that he felt “lucky” to have met Diego who he believes is a “true movie star”.
On the other hand, Calva, who has talked about the opportunity being in Babylon signifies, has not only expressed his wish to keep working in Latin America but also his fear of not being able to work with Latin-American directors again after his breakthrough in Hollywood.
Earlier this month Calva, Robbie, and Brad Pitt joined director Chazelle at the red-carpet world premiere for Babylon at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. Also in attendance were Jovan Adepo, Olivia Wilde, Jean Smart, Jimmy Ortega and Tobey Maguire and .
