John Boyega

John Adedayo Adegboyega
Birthplace	Peckham, London, England
Birthdate	March 17, 1992
Occupation	Actor, Producer
First Film	Attack the Block
Active Years	2011-present
Notable Films	Attack the Block, 24: Live Another Day, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

John Boyega is an English television, theater, and film actor. He is best known for his role in the 2011 science fiction film, Attack the Block and the 2015 film, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens as Finn. He portrays Jake Pentecost, the son of Stacker Pentecost, in Steven S. DeKnight's Pacific Rim Uprising.

Biography

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. 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, but was not picked up by HBO. Also in 2011, he acted in the film Junkhearts in which he portrayed 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. In March 2012, Boyega was cast in the film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's book Half of a Yellow Sun.

On 29 April 2014, it was confirmed that Boyega had been cast as a lead character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. 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 both audiences and critics.

In 2017, Boyega starred in Kathryn Bigelow's period drama, Detroit. That same year, he starred in The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. Following the end of the sequel trilogy, Boyega criticized the Star Wars production for sidelining his character in the last two films, and commented on his experiences with racial insensitivity in the film industry. Boyega has since become one of many public figures advocating for quality-of-life improvements and justice for Black lives.

Production

In January 2016, Boyega formed his own production company, Upperroom Entertainment Limited. In June 2016, Boyega announced that his company would be co-producing Pacific Rim Uprising alongside Legendary Entertainment.

Trivia

• Boyega has stated in an interview that he is a fan of Marvel Comics, and that he had hoped to play the Marvel character Black Panther.