"I'd like to be in anything that tells a good story and has an interesting character."
John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer of Nigerian descent.
He's best known for playing Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, starting with The Force Awakens. Before that, Boyega gained prominence for his performance as the lead Moses in the 2011 sci-fi comedy Attack the Block.
In addition to starring in Pacific Rim: Uprising, he also served as a co-producer.
Earned acclaim and several accolades for his performance as Leroy Logan in the anthology series Small Axe.
Selected filmography:
- Attack the Block (2011) as Moses.
- Junkhearts (2011) as Jamal.
- Law & Order: UK (2011) as Jamal Clarkson
- Becoming Human (2011) as Danny Curtis.
- Half of a Yellow Sun (2013) as Ugwu.
- Imperial Dreams (2014) as Bambi.
- 24: Live Another Day (2014) as Chris Tanner.
- Star Wars as Finn:
- The Circle (2017) as Kalden.
- Watership Down (2018) as Bigwig.
- Detroit (2017) as Melvin Dismukes
- Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) as Jake Pentecost.
- Serengeti (2019) - Narrator (UK version)
- Small Axe (2020) as Leroy Logan (episode "Red, White and Blue')
- Naked Singularity (2021) as Casi
- Breaking (2021) as Brian Brown-Easley
- The Woman King (2022) as King Ghezo
- They Cloned Tyrone (2023) as Fontaine
He provides examples of:
- Creator Backlash: Boyega made it no secret that he was frustrated with how Finn was handled in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, mostly due to The Last Jedi changing directions from the initial character trajectory that had been described to him by J. J. Abrams (who reinstated some of these elements into The Rise of Skywalker). He also took issue with the marketing of The Force Awakens pushing him, a black man, as the new protagonist to cover for Rey being the trilogy's central character, and then reducing his role in favor of her character and Kylo Ren. He also expressed frustration about how Kelly Marie Tran had many of her scenes cut from The Rise of Skywalker, on top of keeping her away from the main journey. Nonetheless, he has stated that he is open to a return to the franchise if his concerns about representing characters of color are heeded, and if his co-stars join him in future productions.
- Creator's Favourite Episode: Out of all the Star Wars films he appeared in, he stated he enjoyed The Force Awakens the most, especially as his character, Finn, had a far more prominent role and more Character Development in this film (he felt that Finn got sidelined in the sequels, in particular The Last Jedi).
- The Other Marty: A bizarre example happened with the Netflix film Rebel Ridge, which he'd signed on for but had to exit due to "family reasons". Trade reports indicate, however, that Boyega just mysteriously disappeared from the production in the middle of filming.
- Star-Making Role: Finn in The Force Awakens, undeniably so.
