Force oF nature
Star Wars favourite John Boyega is making sure his time in the spotlight serves the greater good, writes Holly Byrnes
CLUTCHING a megaphone, with tears of fury streaming down his face, John Boyega put Hollywood niceties aside and let the emotion of the Black Lives Matter uprising, back in June, take over.
The spontaneous and heartfelt speech about racism would go viral (3.6 million views and counting), coming as it did in the fevered days after the murder of George Floyd at the hands – and knee – of American police.
The 28-year- old British actor, best known for his historymaking role in the Star Wars franchise, knew in the moment his impassioned remarks at the Hyde Park protest in London had the potential to derail his impressive and up-and- coming career.
But, instead of fear, the unapologetic and confident star put the showbiz world on notice he was not going to be sidelined in the fight for social justice anymore.
Even more serendipitous, he says, was the fact he’d just finished filming the role of Leroy Logan – the true story of a pioneering Metropolitan policeman in London’s West Indian community – for a series of films, directed by 12 Years a Slave’s Steve McQueen, when Boyega drew his very public line in the sand.
McQueen, knighted for services to film in the 2020 New Year’s Honours list, sought out Boyega for a lead role in his Small Axe anthology series – featuring five films (independent of each other) which explore issues of race and identity, black love and joy, family, music and even food.
The collection, including Mangrove [streaming from Saturday on BINGE] and Lovers Rock, premiered at the New
York and London film festivals to critical acclaim earlier this year, ahead of their stream TV scheduling.
Boyega was cast in Red, White and Blue, which follows Logan, an accomplished forensic scientist, who was inspired to join the force after his father was brutally assaulted by police.
Hitting close to home, Boyega met with the man he portrays with such poise, authenticity and a deep understanding that makes it clear his own lived experience informed the performance.
In fact, Boyega would discover he was friends with many of the young locals mentored by Logan, who championed better ties between police and minority communities.
The timeliness of this biopic will connect audiences to the storytelling, but as Boyega argues reflects how much work on race relations still needs to be done.
“To see it come out in this way while there are such big, intense conversations [ going on],” he says, “just goes to show how much of an issue it is and how much hasn’t changed.”
Empowered by Logan’s leadership and his own stand in Hyde Park, Boyega would go on to find the moxie to criticise Disney over his treatment on the Star Wars trilogy, in which he played former stormtrooper Finn.
In a provocative interview with British GQ magazine, published in September, Boyega slammed the handling of his character, who started out wielding a lightsaber front and centre in The Force Awakens, but was largely peripheral to the plot in its sequels.
Boyega, buoyed by the momentum of his BLM speech, told GQ: “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. It’s not good, I’ll say it straight up.”
While grateful for the opportunities that came from his Star Wars turn – including starting his own production company Upper Room and starring in Pacific Rim: Uprising
– Boyega still feels compelled to speak his truth.
“Sometimes you just need to be mad,” he says, firmly.
“You need to lay down what it is that’s on your mind. Sometimes you don’t have enough time to play the game.”
Playing the game and owning his place in it has been exhausting at times, he says, but he feels compelled to bring others along with him on the ride.
“The issue for me, really, is I refuse to bend to a tune ... to fit in because that’s the way they do things,” he says.
“Not everybody gets a chance to think like that, so I understand my privilege, but it’s also my privilege to make sure that I can be an example for those who are coming as well ... that you can actually live in your culture and your blackness; and that could be aligned with your artistic endeavours. That, for me, is just the most important thing.”
While much has been made of the entrenched racism in Hollywood, Boyega points out the British industry still has a way to go to include and empower black voices.
“We need to start seeing representation in terms of producers, executives. We need more writers to fill these spaces. We need more IP [intellectual property] from owners who are black,” he explains, citing Michaela Coel’s boundarybreaking series I May Destroy You as a benchmark for black storytelling this year.
“It’s very, very important to help influence this change and influence this collaboration.”
small axE antHology
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