Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna on reuniting for new series La Máquina

After decades of friendship, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna can still impress each other. 

Re-teaming onscreen for the first time since 2010, the duo star in Hulu's first Spanish-language original series La Máquina, which they also executive produce together. The series centers on Esteban "La Máquina" Osuna (García Bernal), an aging boxer preparing to enter the ring for one last chance at glory, and his childhood friend/manager Andy Lujan (Luna), who is a bit over-obsessed with how he appears on the outside despite making some dark deals that have put him and Esteban on a dangerous path with questionable people.

"The nose doesn't happen to be mine and a lot is happening in the forehead. And those lips, sadly, they're not mine. I had to give them back. I have no lips, basically," Luna jokingly tells Entertainment Weekly of his prosthetics. "I'm going to be honest here: That ass is not mine. It's gigantic. And I'm happy not to have it because, to be fair, it's very uncomfortable. The trousers had to be tailored for that ass to fit. But I mean, [Andy] is someone that is just not happy with the way he looks, and not happy with what he sees in the mirror."

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The series follows Esteban as he prepares for his last fight — but it's one he might have to lose as the best friends find themselves in fear for their lives. For García Bernal, the hardest part about playing the "aging boxer" was the actual aging. "It took a whole lot of preparation and a lot of effort, nights out, and not sleeping. It was a lot of preparation, a lot," he jokes. For him, training actually began 10 years ago when, though he had been a lifelong boxing fan and occasionally dabbled in the sport, he got "really into it as a disciplined sport" and began training. "It took a while to get the hang of at least five or six elements that make you look like a boxer," he notes. "It's knowing how to guard, to throw, to move, to dodge, many, many, many things. Unfortunately, boxers used to be great, but now, not so much anymore."

García Bernal and Luna have been friends since childhood, long before they starred in Alfonso Cuarón's 2001 film Y Tu Mamá También. But García Bernal tells EW that Luna's transformation was "incredible" to witness because "it heightened the state of everything. It made it so much more exciting and so much more interesting."

Luna had a similar experience. "It was beautiful to witness," Luna says of watching his longtime friend develop this character. "I really love boxing, and it was very nice getting fooled by the illusions. He was in the ring, and he was fighting. And he was definitely achieving everything that we discussed and that we dreamed about. You can tell he understands fighting."

"There is something beautiful in the metaphor of talking about an ending of a career, of a dream, of a journey that is hypnotic to watch," Luna continues. "We were in a set that was an actual arena, there was an actual boxer in front of my friend, and you couldn't tell who had more years training. It was very, very exciting to watch." 

La Máquina premieres Wednesday, Oct. 9, on Hulu.