John Boyega Star Wars Interview – Learn about Finn

I had the opportunity to interview John Boyega during the Star Wars Global Press Junket in LA.  All expenses to travel were covered by Disney/ABC. All opinions are my own…yes I am a Star Wars geek! 🙂

John Boyega Star Wars Interview – Learn about Finn

The most energetic man of the year award goes to John Boyega who plays Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens! WOW! Being able to have an Exclusive John Boyega Star Wars Interview with this man was very exciting and rewarding. I was in the presence of the next generation Star Wars celebrities! He was the funniest, most energetic, actor that I have interviewed in a really long time! He walks in wearing a backpack and announces that he has the backpack for “no reason” he said he felt like wearing it and it has “nothing significant in it”. We started the interview chuckling and we ended it crying in tears…because we were laughing so hard of course. His energy and smile were contagious. We had a great conversation with him about his character, what it is like to be part of the Star Wars cinematic saga and more! Finn describes his character as “conflicted, charismatic, and temporary bravery.”

John is a young actor! He has his whole world in front of him and this is definitely the highlight of his career and life! Enjoy the highlights of our interview below!

John Boyega Star Wars Interview – Learn about Finn

Question: When you first put on the stormtrooper outfit and saw yourself in the mirror, what was your reaction?

John Boyega: I did like the way my glutes looked. It was a good experience, because something like that makes it so real that you are involved in the universe. I mean, when you put on the costume it is the final step of becoming a character. You put on the costume, and you see yourself as a character that isn’t you, and so that is something that was quite profound.

Question: What was your first impression when you raised your light saber?

John Boyega: That was a good day. There are these kids who actually make the technology for the lightsabers; they are quite young. So they brought it in this black case, open the case, I picked up the lightsaber and…(high pitch…just ignore me)…I was definitely egotistical that day.

Question: Do you get to keep it?

John Boyega: No. But what I’m going to do is go back and write a long list: …the storm trooper helmet, the rebel jacket, a leather jacket and the saber that’s what I’m going to go back and get.

Question: How does it feel to be a part of a franchise that sort of stands for generations?

John Boyega: It feels really cool and quite weird at the same time because you don’t think about all the specifics when you are auditioning. It is all about booking the part. You don’t think about that while you are filming because it is about the reality of the scenes. The characters don’t know that they are in Star Wars movie that will change people’s lives. They are in their reality. I remember being with my driver in the UK when we’re going to set and he was just like, “You know what mate? When you die, you’re not gonna be really dead because you’re gonna be everywhere anyway.” I just thought, it is quite surprising to be part of that!

Question: What was the first thing that you did when you found out that you actually got the part?

John Boyega: I was in a cafe with J.J. and Larry Kasdan, and he told me face-to-face. I thought he was gonna tell me I didn’t get the part because J.J. is that nice. I’d auditioned for seven months, and I feel like if he was gonna tell me it didn’t’ go my way, he wouldn’t invited me to a dinner and just go… “You know what? At least you get a free meal.” Then I told my agent who I’ve known since I was sixteen and randomly told a taxi driver. I was like, “you know what, I’ve just been cast in the new Star Wars! He said ‘All right, mate.’”

(He explained to us that he didn’t really celebrate because he doesn’t drink. Then he had to go right back to work.)

Question: So what type of training was involved for the lightsabers?

John Boyega: Hand-to-hand combat. Specifically me and Adam had to do the choreograph scenes together. Finn has a lot of shooting, running, and especially with Rey. Me and Daisy had to get our cardiovascular skills up and that was treacherous. It was fun because now filming the scenes you realize why the training was so intense…

(He then went into great detail about the scene you see in the trailer with the big explosion. He explained to us that he wasn’t acting he was really running for his life.  We had other conversations about how nobody recognizes him yet in public.  He went to go and see Creed and it wasn’t like he was a celebrity.  He says that sometime people recognize him but they are like “nah that isn’t him”.)

Question: Did you play with a lightsaber when you were a kid?

John Boyega: I did. I was more of a Han dude. I wasn’t into Luke like that. I like characters that represent human beings in these kind of projects. If any of us were in the Star Wars universe, we wouldn’t be Luke. We wouldn’t be trying to fight against…I’m trying to live! I’m trying to be Han. I’m trying to make money. I’m trying to survive.

(When talking about shopping on Force Friday, John explained that he went into the Disney store and when he left there was nothing left.)

Question: Can you say or tell us something about your relationship between Finn and Poe.

Finn escapes the first order, he crosses paths with different characters and Poe is one of them. They definitely have a brother relationship. Finn finds a friend in Poe. Poe represent what Finn wants to be. Poe is definite and his position of who he fights for what side he is on and Finn is more in limbo. I don’t want to fight with the stormtroopers; I don’t want to fight for the resistance; I kind of want to get away and Poe gives him a lot of clarity on who he is as a person.

(We finished with a group photo!)

Photo Credit: MomStart.com!

Book your tickets now! Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be in theaters December 18, 2015! Purchase your Fandango tickets today! When tickets were released it about broke the internet!  So cities have opened up more screenings!