1. John Boyega first gained recognition in Britain for his role as a teenage gang leader in the comedy horror film Attack the Block before he had his international breakthrough playing Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
27 Facts About John Boyega
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John Boyega's career continued to gain momentum in 2020 when he won a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of Leroy Logan in Red, White and Blue, a part of Steve McQueen's anthology series Small Axe.
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John Boyega then played King Ghezo in the historical action film The Woman King and a drug dealer in the mystery film They Cloned Tyrone.
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John Boyega was born on March 17,1992, in the Camberwell district of London and grew up in Peckham.
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John Boyega's first acting role was playing a leopard in a play at Oliver Goldsmith Primary School.
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John Boyega spent his time there outside school hours from ages nine to fourteen.
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John Boyega said that his father supported his theatrical interests.
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In 2003, John Boyega began his secondary education at Westminster City School, where he was in various school productions.
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John Boyega enrolled at the University of Greenwich to study for a BA in film studies and media writing, but dropped out to focus on his acting career.
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John Boyega trained with the Identity School of Acting in London, and became a patron of its Los Angeles branch when it opened in 2018.
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John Boyega trained at the Identity School of Acting in Hackney, 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.
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In September 2011, HBO announced that John Boyega had been cast in the boxing drama pilot Da Brick, loosely based on Mike Tyson's life.
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John 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.
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The pilot, written by John Boyega Ridley, was not picked up by HBO.
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Also in 2011, John Boyega was cast in the British drama film Junkhearts as Jamal, a drug dealer who finds some guns and tries to sell them.
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John 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 cover of the magazine's July 2011 edition.
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On 29 April 2014, it was confirmed that John Boyega was cast as a primary character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
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The film and John Boyega's performance were both acclaimed by critics and audiences.
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In January 2016, John Boyega formed his own production company, UpperRoom Entertainment Limited.
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In 2017, John Boyega played the part of a part-time security guard in Detroit, Kathryn Bigelow's film about the 1967 Detroit riots, and reprised his role as Finn in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
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John Boyega reprised his role as Finn in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
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John Boyega did express interest in playing the DC character Red Hood.
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John Boyega was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2020.
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In 2022, John Boyega was the lead in Abi Damaris Corbin's second feature film, Breaking, which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival under its original title, 892, as well as Gina Prince-Bythewood's historical epic The Woman King alongside Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, and Lashana Lynch.
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John Boyega next starred in Netflix's science-fiction comedy They Cloned Tyrone, playing the titular character and multiple other characters.
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John Boyega expressed solidarity with George Floyd, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, and Stephen Lawrence during a speech at a Black Lives Matter rally in Hyde Park, London.
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John Boyega's gesture was supported by a number of celebrities, and Lucasfilm reiterated their support for Boyega and the Black Lives Matter movement.