John Boyega ‘not freaked out’ about fame he’ll get from Force Awakens lead role
London-born actor who’s currently an unknown can’t believe his lucky break in landing starring role in new Star Wars franchise as benevolent stormtrooper Finn, but he’s keeping his feet on the ground
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is days away from its opening, which means that John Boyega, the film's currently unknown star, is days away from becoming life-alteringly famous.
Boyega worries about this only because people keep asking him whether he's worried. “It just makes me go, 'I'm not freaked out,' ” he says. “Should I be freaked out? Is there something I'm missing here?”
Boyega, 23, was raised in London, the child of Nigerian immigrants. He dabbled in stage work before landing a role in the 2011 sci-fi comedy Attack the Block, which led to a meeting at Bad Robot Productions, the film company run by Star Wars director J.J. Abrams. Boyega says that when he ran into Abrams, who was a fan of the Attack the Block, Abrams told him, “We're gonna get you in something.”
A few years later, Boyega found himself auditioning for the role of Finn, a benevolent stormtrooper who anchors Abrams' contribution to the newly rebooted Star Wars franchise. He spent seven months auditioning, working with Abrams to develop a character he hadn't been offered yet.
“It definitely felt like he was on my side,” Boyega recalls. “He talked to me in depth about the character. For me, at the time to be in that position, to be in limbo, was a lot to take in.”