Wait, wait a second there's a fricken
Nah, you missed it, man
Nah
Mate, these are Australian insects, you can't fight em
I was gonna -
You know, it was a valiant effort
John Boyega, lovely to meet you
Lovely to meet you too, man
So, one of the things
that I don't know how many people know this
but long before you got the Star Wars role, you were literally there helping out friends with auditions
you know, setting up the cameras, reading other lines
The most awkward few weeks of my life
So at some point are you just going
um, where's my phonecall?
Yeah, yeah.
I had actor friends who would call me and be like,
"Yo, bro, can you help me? I need you to put this scene on tape for me"
I'd be like, "Oh, what's it for?"
and they'd be like, "Oh it's for Star Wars"
I'd be like, "Oh, oh cool, yeah man, I'll help you out!"
Where's my phonecall, damn it?
And so when did it - because it was like 6, 7 months of auditioning process before you actually got the call so
when you first realised you were actually in contention?
Well you can only read the script at Pinewood and you learn the lines at Pinewood
you can't take the script home
and you don't know the story either, really
Yeah, you don't really know the story.
They're scenes, some of them are like fake scenes, all those kind of stuff
but they embody the character in a certain way
You know, you go into an audition
in front of JJ, in front of Kathleen and just every round was getting much more closer and closer
and then we had a camera test, costumes and all that kind of stuff
How'd that feel?
Yeah, it was great. It was a real good feeling
but I was like, "you lot are taking the mick" man
imagine if I don't get this part, I would have just been running around in costume for nothing, man
Did you ever consider that moment like, "even if I don't get this role, I'm gonna steal this outfit"
I mean, I took a picture of the script
Really?!
Yeah
You can say that now, you're two sequels deep, you're good
Yeah, I took a picture of the script and I took it home to learn, because I was just like
How are you guys gonna give me like 10 pages
and I can't even study them day and night
like, I've gotta make this work
So that moment when you get the phone call
correct me if I'm wrong, but you literally emptied out your bank balance to get to the meeting
I think it was 75 pounds and wherever that driver was
you bumped me because that price was ridiculous
I had to empty out my account
it actually went into minus
Oh my god
There was no way of me getting back. I had to walk back
I had to walk from the cafe in Mayfair to Tottenham Court Road to meet my agent
and he gave me a bit of money to get home.
So sad, he's like, I know you're good for it now, you're in a Star Wars movie
I mean, the money didn't get straight into the account when JJ said yes, you would think that would happen
I assume he has those powers
I know, it's like you got the part,
So you walk into this room and is the cafe empty? Is that how it works?
Yeah, his side of the cafe was empty, it was some Godfather stuff
He was on his phone
with his glasses and he was just there like this
and he goes, "do you want a drink?"
and he was on his phone and never looked up
and he kind of thanked me for being part of the process and told me he knew that it was hard
and blah blah blah and then he told me that I would be a part of it
Did you immediately break into tears? It's like, "it has been hard!"
I was relieved, because I was kind of like, well I kind of
said no to a few other things for this opportunity
not knowing whether it would work or not,
but the biggest one deserved the biggest kind of risk
and the biggest kind of commitment
so I"m glad it all worked out
because I would have been on crack if it didn't.
And there's my headline!
and there's the headline
It's interesting looking at the choices you immediately made after that, before you get to Pacific Rim.
So Detroit is a really interesting movie and I actually sat down and rewatched it on the weekend
and I've heard you describe it as 'the biggest thing' you had done which I think is confusing to people
because you had just done Star Wars
And it means a lot historically in terms of race relations in America.
For you, where are the challenges in playing a role like that?
Well, you're telling somebody else's story, essentially
the same time you're embodying some very sensitive years
So there's a responsibility there, you know?
"The Algiers Motel"
"Three African American men were assassinated."
"You don't talk about this to anyone ever."
"Understand?"
The young black male was being charged for something that he didn't do, something he wasn't involved in
in the context that the police were saying
that directly links to what happens in real life.
There's a feeling of being let down by the very system that you put a sense of hope in,
So, that does things to you, man and is real enough to make the audience go,
Okay, cool, he's not just acting this, there's a real feel to all of this.
So, Pacific Rim - John Boyega and a giant robot
Yeah
So an interesting thing about this film is that you also produced it, as well, your production company
I'm curious, for you, why is it important for you to take control of your career that way?
Well, it's a new way of finding opportunities, you know,
whereas, you're an actor for hire, you're literally waiting for the phone to ring, for the agency to call
every day I'm learning and I'm growing and I guess, the thing I need to learn is not being too hard on myself.
Why do you get hard on yourself?
Of course, because you wanna be effective in everything that you do, in work ethic and everything.
Because sometimes, I just wanna chill, eat Jelly Babies and watch anime.
I gotta learn how to put that down sometimes, man
If I'd known, I would have brought you Jelly Babies. If I knew that was your thing, I would have done it
That was me actually hinting, the next interview
Can we get some Jelly Babies up in here?
Just lastly, before I let you go
Of everything that you've done, what project did you learn the most about yourself on?
I'd say The Brick.
The Brick was a HBO show that um...
Didn't happen
It didn't happen.
And the phones started ringing
stopped ringing
it was quiet
no auditions, nothing
And it was like I was like, everybody would love to tap The Block and I booked this HBO pilot
with Spike Lee and you know, he's an incredible director and then it doesn't happen.
And then you're back to your normal life and then you have to work up again, you know?
That for me was definitely a learning curve and a slap in the face
You ain't shit!
But it was cool, though. It was good to learn that. I mean, it teaches you a lot of stuff
Being true to your damn mistakes, as well.
And what makes you as asshole sometimes
Oh really? What makes John Boyega an asshole sometimes?
None of your damn business, now damnit!
I had a real problem growing up, listening.
Listening was an issue to me and I misconstrued a lot of stuff
that was said to me and that would lead to a lot of anger.
And once I started sorting that out
my opportunities were much better and the connections I had with other people, other human beings
I was able to connect with the better side of themselves.
If you look back on that time now, what would you do differently?
Nothing.
Really? Nothing at all?
Nah, nah, nah. No regrets, bro.
I'm here right now and this was where I wanted to be at the time
but at the time I just wasn't ready for it
And I'm glad I didn't get it because the Lord have mercy.
There were still some things I needed to experience in private.
There's still some things I need to understand
I love the fact that I'm still young, I'm still 25
But my teenage life, that's been mine. I've been with my boys,
doing teenage stuff and I've had a normal life for a significant amount of time.
Normal enough for me to go, okay cool, I'm ready for this next stage and this next trajectory.
John Boyega, you're an absolute legend, thanks so much.