How Diego Esquives Is Taking Peruvian Talent to the International Stage

Breaking into the entertainment industry is hard enough when you grow up surrounded by it. Try doing it from Lima, Peru, where the path to international work isn’t something anyone hands you. That’s the reality Diego Esquives started from, and it’s exactly why his trajectory is worth paying attention to.

Esquives trained at Asociación Cultural Diez Talentos in Lima and later at The American Musical Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles, but the interesting part of his career isn’t where he studied. It’s what he did with it. His early stage work in Peru, including productions of “Macbeth” and “Hamlet” and a gripping turn as The Creature in “Frankenstein,” earned him Best Actor nominations at the Luces Awards. For a Peruvian actor with international ambitions, those classical roles weren’t just credits. They were proof he could go toe to toe with material that intimidates most performers regardless of where they’re from.

That foundation shows up across his film work in ways that separate him from the pack. Take “Mistakes,” where Esquives plays Roman, an underground power player who orders a hit that goes sideways when his own sister gets killed. It’s a dark premise that could easily tip into melodrama, but Esquives keeps it grounded. The film earned finalist status at the London Film Club and screened at The Flight Deck Film Festival and Lift-Off Sessions. He also handled stunt coordination on the project, which tells you something about how hands-on he is with every aspect of production.

Then there’s the other side of Esquives, the filmmaker who clearly can’t sit still. His directorial work started in 2023 with the stage production “The Last Christmas Tree,” but he moved quickly into film with The Immigrants, a short he also wrote and produced. In the film, he plays Nacho, one of two cousins arguing over the path forward as immigrants searching for a better life. It’s a story that hits close to home for Esquives, and festival audiences took notice. The project picked up nominations for Best Film at both The Americas Film Festival New York and the Wolf Media Festival, and screened at festivals including Indie Film Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival.

Esquives also took the stage in “Water by the Spoonful” and brought “The Last Christmas Tree” and “Dreamers” to The L.A. Brisk Festival in 2024, pushing his work in front of new audiences and continuing to build an international presence that stretches well beyond Peru.

Look at his 2025 credits and you’ll see someone operating at a completely different speed. He directed and produced “Three Stories,” a short where he also plays three separate characters. He wrote, directed, and starred in “All Night Long.” He acted in “Caged Voices.” He even handled production design and set decoration on “Eve.” That range of involvement across multiple projects in a single year isn’t common, especially for a Peruvian actor carving out space in an industry that doesn’t always make room for Latino creators.

His next project, a film called “International Actor,” sounds like it might be the most autobiographical thing he’s done yet. For someone who left Peru determined to put Latino talent on the global map, the title fits perfectly.

You can follow his upcoming projects on Instagram or browse his full credits on IMDb.