John Boyega first rose to prominence in Britain for his role as Moses in the sci-fi comedy film Attack the Block, and his international breakthrough came with his role as Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy films The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker.
26 Facts About John Boyega
2.
John Boyega received the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016, and the Trophee Chopard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
3.
John Boyega was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2020.
4.
John Boyega was born in the Camberwell district of London and grew up in Peckham.
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John Boyega's first acting role was as 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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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.
11.
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.
14.
Also in 2011, John Boyega acted in the 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 with two other actors on the cover of the magazine's July 2011 edition.
16.
On 29 April 2014, it was confirmed that John Boyega was cast as a major character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
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The film and John Boyega's performance was acclaimed from critics and audiences.
18.
In 2017, John Boyega starred in Detroit, Kathryn Bigelow's film about the 1967 Detroit riots, and reprised his role as Finn in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
19.
In January 2016, John Boyega formed his own production company, UpperRoom Entertainment Limited.
20.
John Boyega's company co-produced 2018's Pacific Rim: Uprising, the sequel to the 2013 movie Pacific Rim, in which he played the lead role of Jake Pentecost.
21.
John Boyega has been cast in Steve McQueen's miniseries Small Axe.
22.
John Boyega reprised his role as Finn in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
23.
John Boyega did express interest in playing the DC character Red Hood.
24.
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.
25.
John Boyega showed solidarity with George Floyd, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, and Stephen Lawrence during a speech at a Black Lives Matter rally in Hyde Park, London.
26.
John Boyega's gesture was supported by a number of celebrities, and Lucasfilm reiterated their support for Boyega and the Black Lives Matter movement.