John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first rose to prominence in his native Britain for his role as Moses in the sci-fi comedy film ''

Attack the Block ''Attack the Block'' is a 2011 British science fiction comedy horror film written and directed by Joe Cornish and starring John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker and Nick Frost. It was the film debut of Cornish, Boyega and composer Steven Price. The f ...

'' (2011), and his international breakthrough came with his role as Finn in the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

sequel trilogy The ''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy is the third trilogy of the main '' Star Wars'' franchise, an American space opera created by George Lucas. It is produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The trilogy ...

films ''The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last Jedi'' (2017), and ''The Rise of Skywalker'' (2019). His other credits include the drama film ''

Imperial Dreams ''Imperial Dreams'' is an American drama film written and directed by Malik Vitthal. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014. It won the ''Audience Award'' at the festival. The film was released as a Netf ...

'' (2014), the historical epic '' The Woman King'' (2022), and thriller film '' Breaking'' (2022). He received the

BAFTA Rising Star Award The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Rising Star Award, currently styled as the EE Rising Star Award for commercial reasons and previously known as the Orange Rising Star Award, is an award that acknowledges new talents in the ...

in 2016, and the Trophée Chopard at the

2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian director George Miller was the President of the Jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies. On 15 Marc ...

. He was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by ''

New African ''New African'' is an English-language monthly news magazine based in London. Published since 1966, it is read by many people across the African continent and the African diaspora. It claims to be the oldest pan-African monthly in English, as w ...

'' magazine in 2020. Boyega portrayed

Leroy Logan Leroy Hugh Logan is a former police superintendent in the UK. He was both a founding member of the Black Police Association and its chairman for 30 years. Logan left the Metropolitan Police at the rank of superintendent having been involved in ...

in the 3rd episode of

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and ...

's anthology series '' Small Axe'' (2020). For his performance he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and the

Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries The Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television is one of the award categories presented annually by the Critics' Choice Television Awards to recognize the work done by television actors. It was ...

Early life

Boyega was born in the

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This ...

district of London and grew up in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vil ...

. His parents, Abigail (a carer) and Samson Adegboyega (a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movement His first acting role was as a leopard in a play at Oliver Goldsmith Primary School. While in another play there at age nine, he was noticed by Teresa Early, the artistic director of Theatre Peckham, a learning theatre for young people who live in south London. He spent his time there outside school hours from ages nine to fourteen. There was a rumour that his father wanted Boyega to become a minister as well, but Boyega denied this in an interview with Sam Sanders on

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...

, saying that his father supported his theatrical interests. Boyega and his sister Grace were among the last people to see Damilola Taylor alive: they were friends and the Boyegas helped watch him. In 2003, Boyega began his secondary education at Westminster City School, where he was in various school productions. From 2008 to 2010, he attended

South Thames College South Thames Colleges Group (STCG) is a large further education institution operating four colleges in south-west London: South Thames College, Kingston College, Merton College, and Carshalton College. The four main campuses are in Wandsworth, ...

at the college's

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

campus to study for a National Diploma in Performing Arts. His activities there included playing the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

in the college's production of ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyp ...

''. He enrolled at the

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along with it ...

to study for a BA in film studies and media writing, but dropped out to focus on his acting career. He trained with the Identity School of Acting in London, and became a patron of its Los Angeles branch when it opened in 2018.

Career

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 ''

''. In September 2011, HBO announced that Boyega had been cast in the

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

drama pilot ''Da Brick'', loosely based on

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...

'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, written by John Ridley, was not picked up by HBO. Also in 2011, Boyega acted in the film ''

Junkhearts ''Junkhearts'' is 2011 British drama film directed by Tinge Krishnan. It won the Golden St. George at the 34th Moscow International Film Festival. Cast * Eddie Marsan as Frank * Candese Reid as Lynette * Tom Sturridge as Danny * John Boyega as ...

'' as Jamal, 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 with two other actors on the cover of the magazine's July 2011 edition. In March 2012, he was cast in the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ( ; born 15 September 1977) is a Nigerian writer whose works include novels, short stories and nonfiction. She was described in ''The Times Literary Supplement'' as "the most prominent" of a "procession of criticall ...

's book '' Half of a Yellow Sun''. On 29 April 2014, it was confirmed that Boyega was cast as a major character in '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens''. It was later revealed that he would play Finn, a

stormtrooper Stormtrooper or storm trooper may refer to: Military *Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany), specialist soldier of the German Army in World War I *''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) or Storm Detachment, a paramilitary organization of the German Nazi Party *8th In ...

for the

First Order In mathematics and other formal sciences, first-order or first order most often means either: * "linear" (a polynomial of degree at most one), as in first-order approximation and other calculus uses, where it is contrasted with "polynomials of hi ...

, who, after witnessing their cruelty, leaves the military power and joins the fight against them. The film was released on 18 December 2015. The film and Boyega's performance was acclaimed from critics and audiences. In 2017, Boyega starred in ''

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

'',

Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American filmmaker. Covering a wide range of genres, her films include '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Point Break'' (1991), '' Strange Days'' (1995), '' K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002), ''The Hurt Loc ...

's film about the

1967 Detroit riots The 1967 Detroit Riot, also known as the 12th Street Riot or Detroit Rebellion, was the bloodiest of the urban riots in the United States during the "Long, hot summer of 1967". Composed mainly of confrontations between Black residents and the De ...

, and reprised his role as Finn in '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi''. In January 2016, Boyega formed his own production company, Upperroom Entertainment Limited. His company co-produced (with

Legendary Entertainment Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC ( doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborated ...

) 2018's '' Pacific Rim: Uprising'', the sequel to the 2013 movie ''Pacific Rim'', in which he played the lead role of Jake Pentecost. In 2019 he teased his new collaboration with Writer/Director

Sebastian Thiel Sebastian Henry Thiel (born 31 August 1990) is a film director, writer and producer. Career Thiel's filmmaking career began in 2008, after his dreams of playing professional basketball fell through. He founded the production company Upshot Ente ...

, with whom he is developing a series based on their childhood experiences, with Boyega producing. In November 2018 it was announced that Boyega would star with Letitia Wright in a novel adaption of ''Hold Back the Stars''. He has also been cast in

's miniseries '' Small Axe''. Boyega once again reprised his role as Finn in '' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'' (2019). In an interview on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...

'', he revealed that he inadvertently left his script in a hotel room during filming. When it surfaced on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

, it was bought by a

Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the '' Star Wars'' and ...

employee to prevent it from being leaked. In response to a tweet suggesting he should play the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

character Static in a live-action role, Boyega said he would be too old for the role, and that he would be interested in seeing a newcomer receive it. He did, however, express interest in playing the DC character

Red Hood The Red Hood is an alias used by multiple characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The identity was first used in the 1951 storyline " The Man Behind the Red Hood!", which provides the earliest origin story for the Jok ...

. In the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

editions of the '' Powerlist'', Boyega was listed in the Top 100 of the most influential people in the UK of African/African-Caribbean descent. More recently, his production company UpperRoom made a first-look deal with VIS Kids. While filming the Netflix film ''

Rebel Ridge ''Rebel Ridge'' is an upcoming American thriller film written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier. It stars Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, James Badge Dale, James Cromwell, AnnaSophia Robb and Emory Cohen. Cast * Aaron Pierre *Don Johnson *James Badge ...

'', he unexpectedly walked out mid-production due to family issues. In 2022, 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 Gina Maria Prince-Bythewood (born June 10, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for directing the films '' Love & Basketball'' (2000), ''Disappearing Acts'' (2000), '' The Secret Life of Bees'' (2008), '' Beyond the L ...

's historical epic '' The Woman King'' alongside

Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...

Thuso Mbedu Thuso Nokwanda Mbedu (born 8 July 1991) is a South African actress, She rose to prominence for her performance in the South African teen drama series '' Is'Thunzi'' for which she was nominated consecutively for an International Emmy in 2017 and ...

, and Lashana Lynch. The latter was a box office success, grossing $94.2 million worldwide.

Upcoming projects

Boyega will next star in

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

's science-fiction comedy '' They Cloned Tyrone. In May 2021, it was announced that he would reteam with Joe Cornish in a sequel for ''

''.

Activism and advocacy

Boyega showed solidarity with

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit tw ...

Sandra Bland Sandra Annette Bland was a 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on , 2015, three days after being arrested during a traffic stop. Her death was ruled a suicide. It was followed by protest ...

, Trayvon Martin, and Stephen Lawrence during a speech at a

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

rally in

Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a Grade I-listed major park in Westminster, Greater London, the largest of the four Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance to Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Gre ...

. His gesture was supported by a number of celebrities, and

also reiterated their support for Boyega and the Black Lives Matter movement. In a 2020 interview with '' British GQ'', Boyega openly criticised

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

for sidelining his character Finn in the ''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy: " at 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. It's not good. I'll say it straight up." Boyega is a

teetotaller Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Podcasts

Video games

Theme park attractions

Awards and recognition

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyega, John Living people 1992 births 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the Identity School of Acting BAFTA Rising Star Award winners Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Black British male actors English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors English people of Nigerian descent English people of Yoruba descent English video game actors Male actors from London People from Peckham Yoruba male actors