John Boyega had £45 to his name when he secured ‘Star Wars’ role
Actor John Boyega, who achieved a breakout role in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has revealed that he only had £45 to his name when he was offered the life-changing role. Boyega, who grew up in Peckham, went on to become one of the leading characters in the reprised Star Wars universe.
Boyega gained his first major acting role as a teenager, playing gang leader Moses in the 2011 film Attack The Block. Following this, he was further cast in independent films such as Junkhearts, Imperial Dreams, and Half of a Yellow Sun. However, the actor has shared that his life was not one of a glamorous leading man prior to getting the call-up for Star Wars.
Appearing at the Comic & Entertainment Expo in Chicago last weekend, Boyega shared the story of being cast in the colossal blockbuster film. Apparently, when director JJ Abrams called the actor, he was apprehensive to answer. “I decided to pretend as if I was busy,” Boyega shared. “You know when you just pretend that you’re busy. ‘I got other stuff to do, JJ,’ [but then] he goes ‘Where are you?’”
At this point, Boyega lied, claiming to be at an art exhibition in Greenwich while actually being at home in Caford. “[Abrams said], ‘I’m in Mayfair at a restaurant – I need to talk to you now, and we’ll talk about something important’. So I [told him] I was gonna be right there.”
As residents of London will be aware, Catford, in South East London, is quite a distance from Mayfair. Due to the urgency of Abrams’ call, however, Boyega chose to catch a Hackney cab across the city. “At the time, I had £45 in my account. It took £33 and 83p to get to JJ,” Boyega recalled. “Do the math.”
Although Boyega doubted that Abrams would offer him the part, he was almost immediately cast in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which changed the course of his life and career indefinitely.
Boyega’s character, Finn, was a key component of The Force Awakens, but he has since claimed that his role was sidelined for subsequent films, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
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