Chicago Sun-Times

LIFE JOHN BOYEGA LIVES ‘ EVERY SINGLE MOMENT’

Actor looks back at ‘ Force Awakens’ highlights and forward to the secrets of ‘ Episode VIII’ A snapshot of the first Star Wars: The Force Awakens cast readthroug­h was fans’ initial glimpse seeing John Boyega in the sci- fi universe — though with more so

- Brian Truitt

“This is the first time I spoke Finn’s words out loud in front of everyone else, with real Americans around me, so I didn’t want them to be like, ‘ Oh, my gosh, his accent’s off,’ ” says Boyega.

There’s a lot of him in the extras, from deleted scenes to a feature showing director J. J. Abrams working with Boyega, Adam Driver ( as evil Kylo Ren) and Daisy Ridley ( as the heroic Rey) to create the final lightsaber battle.

Boyega calls from London to talk about Force Awakens secrets and what fans can expect from the now- filming Episode VIII ( in theaters Dec. 15, 2017):

Q: WHICH OF THE DELETED SCENES WERE YOU GUTTED TO LOSE?

A: It was the scene between Finn and Han when they’re cornered by the Stormtroop­ers in Maz ( Kanata’s) castle. That was the first time me and Harrison ( Ford) got in our flow in terms of the banter and the jokes. We were having fun and ended up shooting like 13 different versions just because it was a lark.

Q: WHAT WAS THE KEY TO CONNECTING WITH ALL YOUR CO- STARS?

A: Finn gets along with everybody: He’s got a great chemistry with Poe, a great chemistry with Rey, a great choppy chemistry with BB- 8 and Chewie, and the thing with Han. I had to work with everyone and to do that, you’ve got to have a little bit of a reputation. You’ve got to be the popular kid. ( Laughs)

Q: WHAT SINGLE PLOT POINT WAS THE HARDEST TO NOT SPILL?

A: I really wanted to tell people that Finn wasn’t going to be the Jedi of Force Awakens, that you wouldn’t see any signs of him being Force- sensitive. Because they had all the posters ( of Finn) with the lightsaber, I didn’t want people to be somewhat disappoint­ed. But you know, Daisy looks good with a blue saber!

Q: WHAT HAS IMPRESSED YOU THE MOST ABOUT ‘ EPISODE VIII’ DIRECTOR RIAN JOHNSON?

A: You can tell that Rian and J. J. are of the same ilk artistical­ly, and Rian is bringing his own perspectiv­e and feel to the film. If you’ve watched Looper, you know that Rian is great, especially with the darker style of narrative, but also there’s a lot of fun and it still feels like a Star Wars movie.

Q: WHAT’S THE BIGGEST LESSON YOU LEARNED DOING ‘ FORCE AWAKENS’ THAT YOU’VE TAKEN TO HEART FOR THE NEW FILM?

A: When I got the role, I made myself a promise that I was going to live out every single moment — that even when we’re at the stage where Star Wars 12 is coming out, I wouldn’t regret joining this experience. I don’t know what happens next, but it’s really going to be fun, I know that for a fact.

 ?? PHOTOS BY LUCASFILM ?? Finn ( John Boyega) wields a lightsaber in Force Awakens, but he’s not the film’s Jedi.
PHOTOS BY LUCASFILM Finn ( John Boyega) wields a lightsaber in Force Awakens, but he’s not the film’s Jedi.
 ??  ?? Han Solo ( Harrison Ford) and Finn are cornered by Stormtroop­ers. Boyega recalls doing numerous versions of the scene “because it was a lark.”
Han Solo ( Harrison Ford) and Finn are cornered by Stormtroop­ers. Boyega recalls doing numerous versions of the scene “because it was a lark.”

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