For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Join the club
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter
John Boyega gave his all during the audition process for Star Wars: The Force Awakens – and that apparently included almost all his money.
The British actor, who was ultimately cast as stormtrooper-turned-rebel Finn in the popular sci-fi franchise, recently recalled how he got the role during a panel at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo last Saturday. "I had been auditioning for so long, so I felt like he kind of took away my dignity a little bit," Boyega told the audience (via People), saying he will "never forget the day" director J.J. Abrams broke the news to him.
"I decided to pretend as if I was busy, you know, when you just pretend that you're busy. 'I got other stuff to do, J.J..' He goes, 'Where are you?' And I said 'I'm at this art show in Greenwich, mate. I'm very, very busy. Where are you?' He goes, 'Well, I'm in Mayfair and [at a] restaurant. Need to talk to you now. And we'll talk about something important.' And I go, 'Okay, okay, I'm gonna be right there.'
Article continues below
"At the time I had £45 in my account. It took £33 and 83p to get to J.J. Do the math," he explained.
Luckily, Boyega made it to the restaurant to meet Abrams, and that conversation was about to change his life forever. "Each step I took, I was nervous," he remembered. "I was like, 'Okay, cool.' You know, J.J. is a phenomenal, nice guy, and if he was to tell me I didn't get the part, he would still feed me," he added.
"I sat down and, J.J. just said, 'Thank you so much for coming back. I know we've kind of [strained] you with this amount of auditions.' At that time, I took it upon myself to try and get another audition and go like, 'J.J., please. Look, I can audition again. I can do British, Scottish, Nigerian, whatever. And he goes, 'You're [in Star Wars]'," the actor continued, saying that "everything felt very surreal."
The cherry on top was writer-director Lawrence Kasdan showing up in the meeting too to tell him that The Force Awakens was going to change his career. "That's the Hollywood s***. You know what I'm saying?", Boyega told the audience in Chicago.
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
Kasdan wasn't wrong – although he had been acting professionally for nearly a decade, John Boyega jumped to stardom thanks to the 2015 film, which was followed by two sequels, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Mireia is a UK-based culture journalist and critic. She previously worked as Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy, and her work as a freelance writer has appeared in WeLoveCinema and Spanish magazines Fotogramas, Esquire, and Elle. She is also a published author, having written a book about Studio Ghibli's 'Kiki's Delivery Service' in 2023. Talking about anime and musicals is the best way to grab her attention.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Join The Community
