He shook up Star Wars as its first black stormtrooper and hasn’t looked back since. John Boyega on facing down bullies and not being nicey-niceJohn Boyega is talking about the day his world changed – and he knew everything would be OK. It’s not when he got the lead role in his first film,Attack The Block, aged 18, and nor when he was whisked off by JJ Abrams to Hollywood for a mighty role in Star Wars. Not even when he earned his spurs as a serious film actor in final year’s Detroit,a shocking exposé of racism in the US police.
No, he realised everything was going to be just fine back in secondary school when he learned to use his hands. I smacked a few people in the face. That was a glorious day. I was 14 or 15. I was on the 148 bus and I got to the bus end and a guy that had been at our school was there with two of his friends. He wanted a new phone, and so he thought he was going to get one off me. Anyway,to prick a long narrative short, he approached me with one of his friends and I made both their left eyes water. And I didn’t even punch. I slapped – tough. It was meaningful I slapped because that’s something a parent would do to their child.”Continue reading...
Source: guardian.co.uk