Diego Lanao’s creative journey began when his father showed him Good Will Hunting in 8th
grade. It was as if a switch had been turned on when he saw Robin Williams perform his
monologue of how little Will Hunting knew of the world. Thus, Diego vowed to become an actor.
When he learned that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck initially had issues getting roles - he decided
to do what any 13-year old boy would do. He copied them. By learning how to write scripts for
his own voice. It didn’t take long to realize that writing provided a greater satisfaction since it
alleviated the million ideas from his mind. However, his physician parents weren’t crazy about
him being a writer. “I write your checks for the dentist”, his stubborn mother would say, “I guess
that makes me a writer too!” To appease his family, Diego majored in Biology and Computer
Science at NYU before running away to pursue writing full-time. Since then, his pilot, THE
RIGHT ONE ALIVE, was placed on the 2022 Latinx List x The Black List, he’s worked as a
Writer’s PA for a NETFLIX show produced by Jenji Kohan and...he continues to seek his
parents approval.
