Mexican actor Diego Luna made an appearance on "Conan" on Monday night to promote his latest film "Elsyium" - in theaters August 9 - but he also took some time to joke and teach some Spanish to TV host Conan O'Brien and give him some advice to survive in the all-Spanish speaking Los Angeles portrayed in his new work, the Huffington Post reported.
"Elsyium", directed by Neil Blomkamp, is a sci-film set in year 2159 that explores themes like class issues, immigration and health care, according to Latina.com. It tells the story of man on a mission to bring equality to both Earth and a man-made space station. It also features Matt Damon, Alice Braga and Jodie Foster.
"Do you speak Spanish?", Luna asked. "The thing is if you want to keep your job in this network you're going to have to learn Spanish. You know like 47 million people speak Spanish today, and we like having sex, so multiply that [by] eight in ten years," the 33-year-old actor said to O'Brien.
Then O'Brien asked Luna to teach him words that could help him make it in an all-Spanish world. But instead of giving him practical choices, Luna chose to begin with the expression "no mames", Mexican slang for "you're kidding" or "no way".
"If you want to survive in the future in this country you have to know 'no mames,' which is an expression. Literally it means 'do not suck' or 'don't suck it' like the lollipop obviously," said the "Elsyium" star.
To which 0'Brien responded, "Don't suck that lollipop! You kid, don't suck the lollipop!" trying to use his new acquired Spanish vocabulary. The actor was quick to explain that he should never use the expression with kids, "Be careful, never with kids, no, no, no," while the audience burst out laughing.
In his career, Luna has performed in television, film and theatre. His big break came in 2001 with critically acclaimed film "Y tu mama también", where he worked alongside his childhood friend and actor Gael García Bernal.
Luna is currently trying to take his career to the next level by making a name for himself in the United States. He reunited with García Bernal in his previous film, 2012's Spanish-language comedy "Casa de Mi Padre", that also featured actor Will Ferrell.
Last year he began directing his first English-language film, American labor leader César Chavez's biopic, "Chávez", about the life of the founder of the United Farm Workers.
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