John Boyega opens up about his unique experience as a Black leading man in 'Star Wars'

When British actor John Boyega was cast to play reluctant Stormtrooper Finn in 2014’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the backlash against the Black performer was swift and isolating. Some fans threatened to boycott the franchise for casting Boyega as the first Black Stormtrooper, a racially charged experience that wasn’t limited to faceless members of the public. In a revealing new interview with British GQ, Boyega opens up for the first time about microaggressions he experienced on set of the blockbuster film and the lack of support he felt from Disney.Currently isolating in the UK, Boyega made headlines in June when he delivered a powerful and visceral five-minute speech at a Black Lives Matter rally. “I don’t know if I’ll have a career after this. But f**** that!” a tearful Boyega told the large crowd. “Today is about innocent people who were halfway through their process. We don’t know what [they] would have achieved… But today we’re going to make sure that won’t be an alien thought to our young ones… today’s the day we remind them that we are dedicated and this is a lifelong dedication. We don’t leave here and stop.”

 

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"I saw vulnerability in a lot of black men's eyes that made me cry because you don't get to see that." Actor, activist and our October cover star #JohnBoyega speaks to @jimfamished about the Black Lives Matter movement, UK protests, life after #StarWars and his experiences as a black man in Hollywood at the LINK IN BIO. Producer & Editor @mateo.notsuke DoP @lloydwillacy Op @Kieranbrettt Sound Rec&Mix @tlbm_rec Stylist @luke_jefferson_day Junior Fashion Editor @angelomitakos Barber @eph_the_barber Hair stylist @brendafordhair MUA Natalie Abizadeh // #GQ Editor @dylanjonesgq

A post shared by British GQ (@britishgq) on Sep 2, 2020 at 3:49am PDT

Wearing a black sweater at the rally, Boyega’s short braids could be seen peaking out of his hood in the now viral video. Speaking to GQ, Boyega told journalist Jimi Famurewa that his decision to let his hair grow was not simply for convenience during quarantine. “When black men grow out their hair it’s a very powerful thing,” said Boyega. “Culturally, it stands for something.” The conversation on hair and the ongoing struggle for Black actors to be provided with makeup artists and hair stylists who are trained in how to style their hair was brought up by Boyega in relation to his time on Star Wars. “During the press of [The Force Awakens] I went along with it,” said Boyega, who remembers being assigned a hair stylist who did not know how to properly style his hair. “And obviously at the time I was very genuinely happy to be a part of it. But my dad always tells me one thing: ‘Don’t overpay with respect.’ You can pay respect, but sometimes you’ll be overpaying and selling yourself short.”[video_embed id='-1']RELATED: John Boyega calls for Star Wars fans to back off[/video_embed]Boyega said that his race led to the actor standing out from his co-stars beyond the makeup chair and bled into his character's storyline, or more appropriately, lack thereof. “You get yourself involved in projects and you’re not necessarily going to like everything. [But] 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.”

 

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Loved collaborating with @britishgq for this !! Thank you @dannykasirye for capturing the shots and to @jimfamished for the honest conversation. Out now ! ????

A post shared by John Boyega (@johnboyega) on Sep 2, 2020 at 12:49am PDT

Continuing, Boyega pointed to film leads Daisey Ridley and Adam Driver, who were given layered storylines that helped give their characters depth and substance. “You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran, when it came to John Boyega, you know fuck all. So what do you want me to say? What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience...’ Nah, nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it’s a great experience. They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything,” said Boyega.Like Boyega, Tran’s casting also exposed the actor to a hateful onslaught of racist trolling, which became so violent in its messaging that Tran was forced to delete her social media.As the only Black lead in the franchise, Boyega says that his experience in the Disney juggernaut made a deep impact that led to the actor seeking the help of a therapist to work through his feelings of anger. “I’m the only cast member who had their own unique experience of that franchise based on their race,” said Boyega. “Let’s just leave it like that. It makes you angry with a process like that. It makes you much more militant; it changes you. Because you realise, ‘I got given this opportunity but I’m in an industry that wasn’t even ready for me.’ Nobody else in the cast had people saying they were going to boycott the movie because [they were in it]. Nobody else had the uproar and death threats sent to their Instagram DMs and social media, saying, ‘Black this and black that and you shouldn’t be a Stormtrooper.’ Nobody else had that experience. But yet people are surprised that I’m this way. That’s my frustration.”[video_embed id='2026854']BEFORE YOU GO: Letitia Wright pens moving poem for Chadwick Boseman [/video_embed]