John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega, better known by his stage name John Boyega, was born on March 17, 1992, in Nigeria. He is a British-Nigerian actor, screenwriter, and producer best known for playing Moses in the sci-fi comedy “Attack the Block (2011).” His appearances in films like Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker, have also helped him earn international recognition throughout the years (2019).
Among his many credits are the drama film Imperial Dreams (2014), the historical epic The Woman King (2022), and the thriller film Breaking (2022). He received the BAFTA Rising Star Award and the Trophée Chopard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. He was recognized as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans in 2020 by the New African magazine.
Early Life and Education
Boyega was raised in Peckham but was born on March 17, 1992, in London’s Camberwell neighborhood. His parents, caregiver Abigail Adegboyega and Pentecostal minister Samson Adegboyega, are both of Nigerian descent. The younger sister of two, he is.
Boyega and his sister Grace were some of the last persons to see ten-year-old Nigerian youngster Damilola Taylor alive on November 27, 2000. Taylor was killed in London, becoming one of the most well-known murders in British history. In 2006, two brothers who were 12 and 13 years old at the time of the murder were found guilty of manslaughter. Friends, the Boyegas assisted in keeping an eye on him.
He attended Oliver Goldsmith Primary School, where he received his first acting role when he was nine years old, and he began his secondary education in 2003 at Westminster City School, where he took part in several school productions. From 2008 to 2010, he attended South Thames College’s Wandsworth campus to pursue a National Diploma in Performing Arts. He took part in the college’s Othello performance, where he performed the title role. In order to focus on his acting career, he left the University of Greenwich where he had enrolled to earn a BA in media writing and film studies. After completing his acting training at the Identity School of Acting, he became a customer when the Los Angeles location opened in 2018.
Career
In his first theatrical performance as a pupil at Oliver Goldsmith Primary School, he played a leopard, which marked the beginning of his acting career. Teresa Early, the artistic director of Theatre Peckham, a learning theater for kids in south London, saw him act in another play there when he was nine years old. He spent his time there after school from the age of nine to fourteen. Boyega denied the rumor that his father wanted him to pursue a career in ministry in an interview with Sam Sanders on Fresh Air, saying instead that his father had always supported his passion for acting.
Boyega played in Six Parties at the National Theatre and Category B at the Tricycle Theatre before receiving a part in the 2011 film Attack the Block. At the Identity School of Acting in Hackney, Boyega received his acting instruction. Boyega was cast in the boxing drama pilot Da Brick, which is partly based on the life of Mike Tyson, according to a September 2011 HBO announcement. Boyega was anticipated to take on the role of Donnie, a young man who, upon reaching 18, is released from a juvenile detention center and begins to reflect on what it means to be a man. The pilot, which was written by John Ridley, was not chosen for HBO to screen. Boyega also appeared as Jamal, a drug dealer who discovers some guns and tries to sell them, in the 2011 movie Junkhearts.
Boyega, who was selected by Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International as one of the “UK Stars of Tomorrow 2011,” shared the magazine’s July 2011 cover with two other actors. In March 2012, he was engaged for the film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book Half of a Yellow Sun. On April 29, 2014, it was formally revealed that he would play a significant role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He plays Finn, a First Order stormtrooper who, as was later revealed, abandoned the military force after witnessing their brutality and joined the fight against them. The film’s debut took place on December 18, 2015. The film and Boyega’s performance were lauded by both reviewers and viewers. He repeated his role as Finn in Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017, the same year he acted in Detroit, Kathryn Bigelow’s drama about the 1967 Detroit riots.
In January 2016, Boyega founded his own production firm, Upperroom Entertainment Limited. He starred as Jake Pentecost in the 2018 follow-up to the 2013 movie Pacific Rim: Uprising, which was co-produced by his company and Legendary Entertainment. Boyega and Sebastian Thiel are working on a television show based on their common upbringing, and Thiel alluded to their future collaboration in 2019. Boyega and Letitia Wright would appear in a Hold Back the Stars novel adaptation, it was announced in November 2018. He was also picked to appear in the Steve McQueen miniseries Small Axe.
Boyega reprised his role as Finn in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). In a Good Morning America interview, he said that while filming, he mistakenly left his screenplay in a hotel room. When it emerged on eBay, a Lucasfilm employee bought it to prevent leaks.
Boyega stated that he would be too old for the job and would be interesting in seeing a novice land the part in response to a tweet proposing that he take on the live-action role of the DC Comics character Static. He did express interest in playing the DC superhero Red Hood, though.
Recent Projects
Boyega appeared in the Powerlist 2020 and 2021 editions’ Top 100 list of the UK’s most influential people of African or African-Caribbean origin. More recently, his production company UpperRoom and VIS Kids agreed to a first-look deal. He abruptly departed Rebel Ridge, a Netflix film, in the middle of filming, claiming a family concern.
Boyega has previously appeared in the science fiction comedy They Cloned Tyrone on Netflix as well as the historical epic The Woman King, directed by Bythewood and starring Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, and Lashana Lynch. Breaking, the second feature film by Abi Damaris Corbin, which had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival under the working title “892,” and They Cloned Tyrone are among his forthcoming endeavors.
He collaborated once more on a sequel to Attack the Block with Joe Cornish in May 2021.
Personal Life
The wonderful British-Nigerian actor hopes to find a committed relationship with the woman of his dreams while he is still unmarried. In a recent interview with Bevy Smith, the host of SiriusXM’s Bevelations, he stated that he preferred a mate that was “brown and thick.”
In addition, he disclosed that if he weren’t getting close to 30 years old, he wouldn’t have considered getting into a relationship. Well, let’s be honest, he said, “At 27, 28, I wouldn’t have stated that previously. “No, no, you have to talk it into being,” I say now. Melanin levels are thick, past 75%, and the color is brown. You must appear well-groomed.
Activism and Advocacy
Boyega offered his support for George Floyd, Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, and Stephen Lawrence during a Black Lives Matter rally in London’s Hyde Park. A lot of famous people applauded him for it, and Lucasfilm reiterated its support for Boyega and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Boyega publicly criticized Disney for underplaying his character Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy in an interview with British GQ in 2020, saying, “What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are, and then have them pushed to the side.” This is bad. I’ll state that up front.
Boyega is known to be a teetotaler, which means he abstains from alcohol. Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug ethanol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practises teetotalism is called a teetotaler or is simply said to be teetotal. The teetotalism movement was first started in Preston, England, in the early 19th century.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | Breaking | Brian Brown-Easley | Abi Damaris Corbin | Also producer |
2022 | The Woman King | King Ghezo | Gina Prince-Bythewood | |
2022 | They Cloned Tyrone | Fontaine | Juel Taylor | Post-production |
2021 | Naked Singularity | Casi | Chase Palmer | |
2019 | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Finn | J. J. Abrams | |
2018 | Pacific Rim: Uprising | Jake Pentecost | Steven S. DeKnight | Also producer |
2017 | The Circle | Ty | James Ponsoldt | |
2017 | Detroit | Melvin Dismukes | Kathryn Bigelow | |
2017 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Finn | Rian Johnson | |
2015 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | FN-2187 / Finn | J. J. Abrams | |
2014 | Imperial Dreams | Bambi | Malik Vitthal | |
2013 | Half of a Yellow Sun | Ugwu | Biyi Bandele | |
2011 | Attack the Block | Moses | Joe Cornish | |
2011 | Junkhearts | Jamal | Tinge Krishnan |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Small Axe | Leroy Logan | Episode: “Red, White and Blue” |
2019 | Serengeti | Narrator | Voice role; 5 episodes |
2018 | Watership Down | Bigwig | Voice role; 4 episodes |
2017–18 | Star Wars Forces of Destiny | Finn | Voice role; 2 episodes |
2016 | Tinkershrimp & Dutch | Dutch | Voice role; 5 episodes |
2015 | Major Lazer | Blkmrkt | Voice role; 10 episodes |
2015 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Segment: “Star Wars Auditions” |
2014 | 24: Live Another Day | Chris Tanner | 4 episodes |
2013 | The Whale | William Bond | Television film |
2012 | My Murder | Shakilus Townsend | Television film |
2011 | Da Brick | Donnie | Pilot |
2011 | Becoming Human | Danny Curtis | 4 episodes |
2011 | Law & Order: UK | Jamal Clarkson | Episode: “Survivor’s Guilt” |
Stage
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | Woyzeck | Woyzeck | The Old Vic, London |
2009 | Six Parties | Ben | National Theatre, London |
2009 | Category B | Reece | Kiln Theatre, London |
2009 | Seize the Day | Sam | Kiln Theatre, London |
2009 | Detaining Justice | Guard / Passer-by | Kiln Theatre, London |
Podcasts
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2021 | Tomorrow’s Monsters | Jack Locke |
Video Games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | Star Wars Battlefront II | Finn | Voice |
2016 | Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Finn | Voice |
2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Finn | Voice |
Theme Park Attractions
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance | Finn | Disneyland |
2019 | Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance | Finn | Disney’s Hollywood Studios |
2015 | Star Tours – The Adventures Continue | Finn | Scene added for seasonal Season of the Force promotion |
Awards and Nominations
Year | Award | Category | Project | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | Black Reel Award | Best Actor | Attack the Block | Won |
Best Breakthrough Performance | Nominated | |||
Best Ensemble | ||||
British Independent Film Awards | Most Promising Newcomer | |||
Empire Award | Best Male Newcomer | |||
Evening Standard British Film Awards | Most Promising Newcomer | |||
London Film Critics’ Circle | Young British Performer of the Year | |||
2015 | British Academy Film Award | Rising Star Award | Himself | Won |
Empire Award | Best Male Newcomer | |||
Georgia Film Critics Association | Best Ensemble | Nominated | ||
MTV Movie Awards | Best Breakthrough Performance | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | ||
Best Action Performance | ||||
Best Ensemble | ||||
Kids’ Choice Awards | Favourite Movie Actor | |||
Saturn Award | Best Actor | |||
2017 | Empire Award | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | ||
Teen Choice Award | ||||
2020 | Critics’ Choice Television Award | Won | ||
Golden Globe Awards | ||||
London Film Critics’ Circle | Nominated | |||
Satellite Awards |
John Boyega Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $20 million.