Diego Luna nearly missed a casting call for 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'.

Diego Luna

Diego Luna

The 36-year-old actor has confessed he contemplated screening a call from the movie's director Gareth Edwards to offer him the role of Captain Cassian Andor as he thought it would just be a "drunken cousin" calling him.

He said: "I saw this British number calling me at 2 a.m., and I have family in England, so I thought it was, like, a drunken cousin from a bar or something.

"I ran over and saw that it was [director] Gareth Edwards wanting to give me some news! I just jumped around like crazy - it was quite a special day. [Edwards] said, 'Okay, welcome to Star Wars.'"

However, his excitement was short lived as he was forced to keep it a secret for a long time including from his children - Fiona, six, and Jerónimo, eight.

He quipped to People magazine: "I didn't trust my children to keep the secret because, well, they're kids! I told them we were spending the summer in England, but I couldn't tell them why for quite a long time."

Meanwhile, Diego previously compared starring in the science fiction franchise to being in love.

Asked if he ever thought he would star in such a big movie, he said: "No, never. The best things that have come to me in life have been a surprise. I think it's because I have kept working, even in something else, and not because of waiting for it. I just think that when you focus your energy in the right direction things start to work out and life surprises you in a positive way. Maybe I'm being too romantic, but it's impossible to travel somewhere looking to fall in love with someone. Instead, when you stop looking for it, it comes to you and soon you are in love. If I didn't have a movie right now I would be very happy doing theatre."