Gabriel Luna

Gabriel Luna
Luna in 2019
Born (1982-12-05) December 5, 1982 (age 42)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
Years active2005–present
Spouse
Smaranda Ciceu
(m. 2011)

Gabriel Isaac Luna (born December 5, 1982) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider on the ABC action superhero series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony Bravo on the El Rey Network drama series Matador, Paco Contreras on the ABC crime drama series Wicked City, Rev-9 in the Terminator film Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), and Tommy Miller in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us. He has also starred in the films Bernie (2011), Balls Out (2014), Freeheld (2015), Gravy (2015), and Transpecos (2016).

Early life

Gabriel Isaac Luna was born in Austin, Texas, on December 5, 1982,[1] the son of Deborah Ann (née Perez) and Gabriel Lopez Luna. Luna's parents were both of Mexican descent.[2] His father died at the age of 20, three months prior to Luna's birth,[3] and he was raised by his mother. He attended St. Edward's University in Austin, where he made his stage debut as Romeo in a production of Romeo and Juliet, and graduated in 2005.[4]

Career

Luna made his screen acting debut as Kristofer Rostropovich in the drama film Fall to Grace, which premiered at South by Southwest in March 2005. He then provided voice-over work for the science fiction video game BlackSite: Area 51, which was released in November 2007.[4] Luna is a founding member of the Austin-based Paper Chairs Theatre Company.[5] On stage in Austin, Luna has portrayed Sergei Maxudov in Black Snow (2009),[6] the title character in Orestes (2009),[7] and Clov in Endgame (2010).[8] For these three performances, he received the Austin Critics Table Best Lead Actor Award in 2010.[9]

Luna then starred as the lead character, Nate Hitchins, in the drama film Dance with the One, which premiered at South by Southwest in March 2010.[4] The following year, he had a supporting role in the black comedy film Bernie, directed by Richard Linklater, which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June 2011. Luna's television credits include minor roles on Fox's serial drama Prison Break (2008), HBO's television film Temple Grandin (2010), Fox's drama-thriller Touch (2013), and CBS' action procedural drama NCIS: Los Angeles (2013).[4]

In 2014, he was cast in the leading role of Tony Bravo on the El Rey Network television series Matador.[10] The series premiered in July 2014 and ran for one season of 13 episodes, ending that October.[11] That same year, he co-starred as Vinnie in the sports comedy Balls Out, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2014.[12] Luna next recurred as Miguel Gilb, a former lover of Taylor Kitsch's character, on the second season of the HBO anthology drama series True Detective, appearing in 3 episodes.[13] He then co-starred in the Julianne Moore and Elliot Page-led drama film Freeheld, directed by Peter Sollett, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2015.[14]

Luna subsequently had a supporting role in the comedy film Gravy, directed by James Roday, which was released in October 2015.[15] He was then cast as Paco Contreras, a detective searching for a serial killer on the Sunset Strip, on the ABC crime drama series Wicked City.[16] The series premiered in October 2015, but was cancelled following its third episode; the remaining episodes were later released through Hulu.[17]

The following year, he starred as border patrol agent Lance Flores in the thriller film Transpecos, opposite Clifton Collins, Jr. and Johnny Simmons. The film had its premiere at South by Southwest in March 2016.[18] Luna next appeared as motorcycle racer Eddie Hasha in the Discovery Channel miniseries Harley and the Davidsons.[19] In July of the same year, it was announced that he would join the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in season 4 as Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider.[20] He was nominated for Choice TV: Action Actor at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards for his role as Ghost Rider.[21] Luna will have a supporting role as Mr. Lawrence in the coming-of-age film Hala, alongside Jack Kilmer and Anna Chlumsky.[22] In April 2018, he was cast as the villainous Rev-9 Terminator in Terminator: Dark Fate.[23]

In 2019, it was announced that Luna would be reprising his role of Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a television series centred on the character which will be released on Hulu to debut in 2020.[24] On September 25, it was reported that Hulu had decided not to go forward on the series.[25]

In April 2021, it was announced that Luna will play Tommy Miller in the HBO television adaptation of The Last of Us opposite Pedro Pascal.[26]

Personal life

Luna married Romanian actress Smaranda Ciceu on February 20, 2011.[27][28][29] They reside in Los Angeles.[27]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Fall to Grace Kristofer Rostropovich Debut role
2010 Dance with the One Nate Hitchins
2011 Bernie Kevin
2012 Spring Eddy Eddy
2014 Balls Out Vinnie
2015 Freeheld Detective Quesada
Gravy Hector
2016 Transpecos Lance Flores
2019 Hala Mr. Lawrence
Terminator: Dark Fate Rev-9
TBA The Astronaut Mark Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Prison Break Eduardo Episode: "Dirt Nap"
2010 Temple Grandin Student Wit Television film; uncredited
2013 Touch Ted Episode: "Ghosts"
NCIS: Los Angeles Geology Student Episode: "Descent"
2014 Matador Tony Bravo 13 episodes
2015 True Detective Miguel Gilb 3 episodes
Wicked City Paco Contreras 8 episodes
2016 Harley and the Davidsons Eddie Hasha Episode: "Amazing Machine"
Rosewood Eddie Lunez Episode: "Eddie & the Empire State of Mind"
2016–2017 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider 10 episodes (cameo appearance in episode 21)
2017 Patti and Marina Guy with Guitar Episode: "Dating"
2022 Love, Death & Robots Sergeant Nielsen (voice) Episode: "Kill Team Kill"
2023 FUBAR Boro 8 episodes
2023–present The Last of Us Tommy Miller 2 episodes
2024 Secret Level King Zimah (voice) Episode: "New World: The Once and Future King"

Stage

Year Title Role Location
2009 Black Snow Sergei Maxudov Salvage Vanguard Theater
Orestes Orestes The Off Center
2010 Endgame Clov Larry L. King Theatre

Video game

Year Title Voice role Notes
2007 BlackSite: Area 51 Additional voices

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Refs
2010 Austin Critics Table Awards Best Lead Actor Black Snow / Orestes / Endgame Won [9]
2016 Nashville Film Festival Special Jury Award for Best Actor Transpecos Won
2017 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: Action Actor Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nominated [21]
2023 Annual Imagen Awards Best Supporting Actor - Drama (Television) The Last of Us Pending [30]

References

  1. ^ "Person Details for Gabriel Isaac Luna, "Texas, Birth Index, 1903-1997"". FamilySearch.
  2. ^ "Davis Luna Obituary – Austin, TX". Austin American-Statesman. December 10, 2013.
  3. ^ Hinckley, David (July 15, 2014). "The most dangerous game: in 'Matador,' Gabriel Luna plays an undercover agent who becomes a pro soccer player to trap an evil billionaire". New York Daily News.
  4. ^ a b c d "Biography – Gabriel Luna (Eddy)". Spring Eddy Movie. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  5. ^ "Paper Chairs - About Us". Paper Chairs Theatre Company. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  6. ^ Syam, Avimaan (July 10, 2009). "Black Snow: Tutto Theatre and Bulgakov's satire are a wonderful marriage of zany energy and deep meaning". The Austin Chronicle.
  7. ^ Syam, Avimaan (August 14, 2009). "Orestes: Cambiare's Orestes is refreshingly fast but, tragically, a bit loose". The Austin Chronicle.
  8. ^ Syam, Avimaan (January 29, 2010). "Endgame: Palindrome Theatre's debut squeezes all the meaning it can from Beckett's bleakness". The Austin Chronicle.
  9. ^ a b Faires, Robert (June 11, 2010). "Culture Class: The 2009-2010 Austin Critics Table Awards". The Austin Chronicle.
  10. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 3, 2014). "Gabriel Luna Gets The Lead In El Rey Series 'Matador', From Bob Orci & Alex Kurtzman". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 28, 2014). "'Matador' Cancelled By El Rey Network After One Season". Deadline Hollywood.
  12. ^ Dunaway, Michael (April 26, 2014). "Catching Up With the Writer, Director and Cast of Intramural". Paste.
  13. ^ Widner, Cindy (June 19, 2015). "Austin native Gabriel Luna spills (a little) on season 2 of HBO's True Detective". The Austin Chronicle.
  14. ^ Kroll, Justin (October 8, 2014). "'Matador's' Gabriel Luna Joins Ellen Page in 'Freeheld'". Variety.
  15. ^ Kit, Borys (April 7, 2013). "'Psych' Star Directing Blood-Splattered Dark Comedy 'Gravy'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 11, 2015). "Gabriel Luna To Star In ABC's 'L.A. Crime'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  17. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (December 23, 2015). "Hulu Streaming Un-Aired Episodes of ABC's Canceled 'Wicked City'". Variety.
  18. ^ Spencer, Jake (March 7, 2016). "Watch: Exclusive Clip from SXSW Premiere 'Transpecos' Leaves You in the Desert". IndieWire.
  19. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (March 17, 2016). "Discovery Channel Sets Premiere Date for Harley-Davidson Miniseries, Adds Three to Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  20. ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (July 22, 2016). "Comic-Con: 'Agents of SHIELD' Casts Ghost Rider for Season 4". The Hollywood Reporter.
  21. ^ a b Swift, Andy (June 19, 2017). "Teen Choice Awards: Pretty Little Liars, The Flash Lead 2017 Nominations". TVLine.
  22. ^ Kroll, Justin (November 29, 2017). "Newcomer Geraldine Viswanathan to Star in Overbrook's 'Hala'". Variety.
  23. ^ Kit, Borys (April 13, 2018). "James Cameron's 'Terminator' Reboot Finds Its Star With Colombian Discovery". The Hollywood Reporter.
  24. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (May 1, 2019). "Marvel And Hulu Set Live-Action 'Ghost Rider' And 'Helstrom' Series; Gabriel Luna To Reprise Role Of Robbie Reyes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  25. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 25, 2019). "'Marvel's Ghost Rider' Live-Action Series Not Going Forward At Hulu". Deadline Hollywood.
  26. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 15, 2021). "'The Last Of Us': Gabriel Luna To Play Tommy In HBO Series Based On Video Game". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  27. ^ a b Black, Kent (November 1, 2016). "On the Road Again". Palm Springs Life.
  28. ^ Luna, Gabriel (February 2015). "Last night Smaranda Luna and I celebrated 4 years..." Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  29. ^ "Member Spotlight: Smaranda Luna". Backstage. March 19, 2015.
  30. ^ Foundation, Imagen. "Nominees Announced for the 38th Annual Imagen Awards Celebrating Latino Excellence". Imagen Foundation. Retrieved November 20, 2023.