John Boyega Trivia | 30 facts about the actor

John Boyega is a British actor and producer who had his international breakthrough with his role as Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy films.

Let’s find out more about the actor!

1. His full name is John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega.
2. He was born on 17th of March 1992.
3. He is known professionally as John Boyega. He is a British actor and producer.
4. He first rose to prominence in his native Britain for his role as Moses in the sci-fi comedy film Attack the Block (2011).
5. His international breakthrough came with his role as Finn in the Star Wars  sequel trilogy films The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
6. His other credits include the drama film Imperial Dreams (2014), the historical epic The Woman King (2022), and thriller film Breaking (2022).
7. He received the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016, and the Trophée Chopard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
8. He was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2020.
9. John Boyega portrayed Leroy Logan in the 3rd episode of Steve McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe (2020).
10. For his performance he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries.
11. Began acting at Theatre Peckham, a local performing arts centre in London for talented children aged 9 to 14. Boyega spent almost every day after school at the theatre, as well as weekends. At 16, he moved to South Thames College to study performing arts, and joined the Identity School of Acting in Hackney.
12. He enrolled at Greenwich University but as his career took off, he left to concentrate on acting.
13. Born and raised in Peckham, south-east London.
14. Was chosen by Screen International as one of the “UK Stars of Tomorrow 2011” and appeared alongside two other actors on the front cover of that magazine in its July 2011 edition.
15. The son of Nigerian immigrants; his father is a Pentecostal preacher and his mother works with the disabled.
16. Has a pet cat named Oluwalogan, often referred to as just Logan.
17. Auditioned for the role of Eggsy in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), and was one of the three finalists along with Taron Egerton, who won the role.
18. His character Finn is featured on a Star Wars postage stamp issued in October 2015 by the UK’s Royal Mail postal service.
19. One of the reasons J.J. Abrams cast him as Finn in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) was because of his performance in the sci-fi/action/comedy Attack the Block (2011). Abrams is a big fan of the film.
20. Established his own production company, UpperRoom Entertainment Limited, in January 2016.
21. Can impersonate facial mannerisms and the voice of his Star Wars co-star Daisy Ridley.
22. Counts Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) as one of his favorite movies as a kid.
23. His middle name means “the crown has become joy”.
24. In 2012, he went to a meeting at the Bad Robot studio. While he was waiting in the lobby, he saw J.J. Abrams and Tom Cruise walking out of an editing room. Upon seeing him, Abrams asked “Boyega, right?”, which resulted in a small conversation.
25. Abrams said that he was a huge fan of Attack the Block (2011) (John’s first film) and added “We’re gonna get you in something”.
26. However, John was rather starstruck by Cruise and paid little attention to what Abrams just said. In 2014, he was cast in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015), which was directed by J.J. Abrams. When Tom Cruise met John again at the Baftas, he asked “So, Star Wars, huh?”, to which John happily replied “Yeah, mate”.
27. While filming Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017), he went to a strict diet and training regime. One day, he went to Carrie Fisher’s trailer, telling her that he was fed up with eating healthy.
28. She then offered him some candy that she had stashed inside her fridge. John compared that experience to walking right into a candy store.
29. After that, he would often visit Fisher’s trailer for occasional “cheat days”.
30. He’s a Christian.