John Boyega dons the producer’s hat
Actor John Boyega, the breakout star of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, says his next film, Pacific Rim Uprising gave him the opportunity to explore other aspects of filmmaking.
In the film, Boyega will be seen playing the role of Jake Pentecost — son of Stacker Pentecost — a fictional character from the film, Pacific Rim (2013) . However, the 26-year-old actor wasn’t interested in acting in the film. He felt that if he would give the time and energy necessary to be on set, he would want to serve as an on-set producer. And so when director Steven S. DeKnight approached him, he saw the opportunity to explore other aspects of filmmaking. He said, “In my previous films, I was just an actor. Now I’d be a producer as well. And I loved the challenge of having to live up to that form of leadership. Being a producer was interesting because any decision I helped make outside the character affected the role. When it came to casting, action sequences, dialogue, it was all a jigsaw puzzle in which I had to give opinions to support the role I felt needed to be created.”