John Boyega

John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), known professionally as John Boyega, is a British-Nigerian actor and producer.[1][2][3][4] He first rose to prominence in his native Britain for his role as Moses in the sci-fi comedy film Attack the Block (2011), and his international breakthrough came with his role as Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy films The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). His other credits include the drama film Imperial Dreams (2014), the historical drama film Detroit (2017), the science fiction film Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), and four episodes of the television series 24: Live Another Day. He received the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016, and was awarded the Trophée Chopard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Boyega was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2020.[5]

John Boyega
Boyega at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega

(1992-03-17) 17 March 1992
London, England
Nationality
  • British
  • Nigerian
Alma materUniversity of Greenwich
Occupation
  • Actor
  • producer
Years active2011–present

Early life

Boyega was born John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega on 17 March 1992 in the Peckham district of London, to Abigail (née Aboderin), who works with disabled people, and Samson Adegboyega, a Pentecostal minister.[6] He has two older sisters.[7] His parents are both of Nigerian descent.[8] His first acting role was as a leopard in a play while at Oliver Goldsmith Primary School.[9][10] While acting in another play there at age nine, he was noticed by Teresa Early, the artistic director of Theatre Peckham, a learning theatre for young people who live in south London. He spent his time there outside school hours from ages nine to 14. His father wanted Boyega to become a minister like himself, but was nonetheless supportive of his theatrical interests.[11][12][13][14] Boyega and his sister Grace were among the last people to see Damilola Taylor alive: they were friends and the Boyegas helped watch him.[15]

In 2003, Boyega started his secondary education at Westminster City School, where he took part in various school productions.[16] From 2008 to 2010, he attended South Thames College at the college's Wandsworth campus to study for a National Diploma in Performing Arts.[17] His activities at the college included playing the title role in the college's production of Othello.[18] He enrolled at the University of Greenwich to study for a BA in film studies and media writing,[19] but dropped out to focus on acting.[12] He trained with the Identity School of Acting in London, and became a patron of its Los Angeles branch when it opened in 2018.[20]

Career
Sundance Film Festival, 2014: John Boyega (2nd from the left), together with Josh Wiggins, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Sharon Swart (from the left to the right)

Boyega trained at the Identity School of Acting in Hackney,[21] and appeared in Six Parties at the National Theatre and Category B at the Tricycle Theatre prior to being offered a role in the 2011 film Attack the Block.[22][23] In September 2011, HBO announced that Boyega had been cast in the boxing drama pilot Da Brick, loosely based on Mike Tyson's life. Boyega was expected to play Donnie, who is released from a juvenile detention centre on his 18th birthday and begins to examine what it means to be a man. The pilot was written by John Ridley,[24] but was not picked up by HBO.[25] Also in 2011, he acted in the film Junkhearts in which he portrayed Jamal, a drug dealer who finds some guns and tries to sell them.

Boyega was chosen by Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International as one of the "UK Stars of Tomorrow 2011" and appeared alongside two other actors on the front cover of that magazine in its July 2011 edition.[26] In March 2012, Boyega was cast in the film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's book Half of a Yellow Sun.[27] On 29 April 2014, it was confirmed that Boyega had been cast as a major character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[28] It was later revealed Boyega would play Finn, a stormtrooper for the First Order, who leaves the military power after witnessing their cruelty in his first combat mission before joining the fight against them. The film was released on 18 December 2015. Both the film and Boyega's performance received acclaim from critics and audiences alike.[29][30]

In 2017, Boyega starred in Detroit, Kathryn Bigelow's film about the 1967 Detroit riots.[31] The same year, he reprised his role as Finn in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.[32]

In January 2016, Boyega formed his own production company, Upperroom Entertainment Limited. His company co-produced Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), the sequel to the 2013 movie Pacific Rim, alongside Legendary Entertainment.[33] Boyega also starred in the lead role of the film, Jake Pentecost.[34] In 2019 John teased his new collaboration with Writer/Director Sebastian Thiel.[35] The two are in development of a series based on their childhood experiences, which Boyega will be producing [36]

In November 2018 it was announced that Boyega would be starring alongside Letitia Wright in a novel adaption of Hold Back the Stars.[37] Boyega has also been cast in Steve McQueen's miniseries Small Axe.[38]

In 2018, Boyega subsequently reprised his role as Finn in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, released in 2019. In an interview on Good Morning America, Boyega revealed that he had accidentally left his script in a hotel room during filming. The script subsequently surfaced on eBay but was bought by a Lucasfilm employee to prevent it from being leaked.[39]

In response to a tweet suggesting he should play the DC Comics character Static in a live-action role, Boyega suggested that he would be too old to star in the role and that he would be interested in seeing a newcomer cast as the character, while himself expressing interest in playing the DC character of Red Hood.[40]

In the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Powerlist, Boyega was listed in the Top 100 of the most influential people in the UK of African/African-Caribbean descent.[41][42]

Activism and advocacy

Boyega has shown solidarity with George Floyd, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, and Stephen Lawrence during a speech at a Black Lives Matter rally in Hyde Park, London. His act was praised by a number of celebrities including fellow Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, Jordan Peele, J. J. Abrams, Edgar Wright, Olivia Wilde and Charlie Brooker. Lucasfilm also reiterated their support for Boyega and the Black Lives Matter movement.[43][44][45]

In a 2020 interview with British GQ, Boyega openly criticised Disney over the sidelining of his character Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, commenting: "[W]hat I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side. It's not good. I'll say it straight up."[46][47][48] Boyega is also a teetotaller.[46]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Director Notes
2011 Attack the Block Moses Joe Cornish
Junkhearts Jamal Tinge Krishnan
2013 Half of a Yellow Sun Ugwu Biyi Bandele
2014 Imperial Dreams Bambi Malik Vitthal
2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens FN-2187 / Finn J. J. Abrams
2017 The Circle Ty James Ponsoldt
Detroit Melvin Dismukes Kathryn Bigelow
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Finn Rian Johnson
2018 Pacific Rim: Uprising Jake Pentecost Steven S. DeKnight Also producer
2019 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Finn J.J. Abrams
2021 Naked Singularity Casi Chase Palmer Post-production[49][50]
TBA They Cloned Tyrone Fontaine Juel Taylor Filming
TBA Rebel Ridge Jeremy Saulnier Filming

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Da Brick Donnie Pilot
Becoming Human Danny Curtis 4 episodes
Law & Order: UK Jamal Clarkson Episode: "Survivor's Guilt"
2012 My Murder Shakilus Townsend Television film
2013 The Whale William Bond
2014 24: Live Another Day Chris Tanner 4 episodes
2015 Major Lazer Blkmrkt Voice; 10 episodes
Saturday Night Live Himself Segment: "Star Wars Auditions"
2016 Tinkershrimp & Dutch Dutch Voice; 5 episodes[51]
2017–18 Star Wars Forces of Destiny Finn Voice; 2 episodes[52]
2018 Watership Down Bigwig Voice; 4 episodes
2019 Serengeti Narrator Voice; 5 episodes[53]
2020 Small Axe Leroy Logan Episode: "Red, White and Blue"

Stage
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2009 Six Parties Ben National Theatre, London [54]
Category B Reece Kiln Theatre, London [55]
Seize the Day Sam [56]
2009 Detaining Justice Guard / Passer-by [57]
2017 Woyzeck Woyzeck The Old Vic, London [58]

Voice work

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Disney Infinity 3.0 Finn Voice
2016 Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Finn Voice
2017 Star Wars Battlefront II Finn Voice

Theme park attractions

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Star Tours – The Adventures Continue Finn Scene added for seasonal Season of the Force promotion
2019 Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Disney's Hollywood Studios
2020 Disneyland

Awards and recognition
Year Award Category Project Result Ref
2011Black Reel AwardBest ActorAttack the BlockWon
Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated
Best EnsembleNominated
British Independent Film AwardsMost Promising NewcomerNominated
Empire AwardBest Male NewcomerNominated
Evening Standard British Film AwardsMost Promising NewcomerNominated
London Film Critics' CircleYoung British Performer of the YearNominated
2015British Academy Film AwardRising Star AwardHimselfWon[59]
2015Empire AwardBest Male NewcomerStar Wars: The Force AwakensWon[60]
Georgia Film Critics AssociationBest EnsembleNominated[61]
MTV Movie AwardsBest Breakthrough PerformanceNominated
Best Action PerformanceNominated
Best EnsembleNominated
Kids' Choice AwardsFavorite Movie ActorNominated[62]
Saturn AwardBest ActorNominated[63][64]
2017Empire AwardBest ActorStar Wars: The Last JediNominated
Teen Choice AwardBest Movie Actor - Sci-Fi/FantasyNominated
2020Critics' Choice Television AwardBest Actor in a Limited Series or TV MovieSmall AxePending
Golden Globe AwardsBest Supporting Actor – TelevisionPending
London Film Critics' CircleBritish/Irish Actor of the YearPending
Satellite AwardsBest Actor in a Miniseries or TV FilmPending

References
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