The official cast of J.J Abrams’ blockbuster ‘Star
Wars: Episode VII’ has eventually been announced. It includes the usual
suspects such as Harrison Ford, Mark Hamil, and Carrie Fisher as well as a few
new faces such as Daisy Ridley and John Boyega. Of great interest to many Star
Wars enthusiasts is who John Boyega is, where did he come from? His role in the
next Star Wars episode is not exactly known but it is rumoured that he is cut
for the lead role.
So exactly who is John Boyega? In a few words, he is a 22 year old British actor best remembered for his role in the 2011 teen movie ‘Attack The Block’ as well as Spike Lee’s ‘Da Brick’ among others. He is also slated to appear in Fox’s ‘24: Live Another Day’ miniseries.
The young actor comes from Peckham, South London. He
attended a Hackney drama school and began acting early in life. He was featured
as a leopard in a school play at age 5. He is not new to combating intergalactic
creatures. In ‘Attack The Block’, he played Moses, an extraterrestrial hunter
fending off evil aliens together with a group of teenagers in South London. The
movie was directed by Joe Cornish, who wrote the screen play for Edgar Wright’s
upcoming movie ‘Ant-Man’ soon to be released by Marvel.
He plays Chris Tanner in ‘24: Live Another Day’
miniseries which debuts on Wednesday May 7 on Sky One. John Boyega has also
featured in other shows like the Nigerian drama ‘Half Of A Yellow Sun’
alongside Thandie Newton and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
It is reported that in the quest for the lead role
in ‘Episode VII’, John Boyega was up against more well known names including
Jesse Plemons of the ‘Breaking Bad’ TV series fame. The young actor will star
alongside Daisy Ridley, another newcomer in what is seen as J. J. Abrams’
decision to pair up relatively unknown characters in the next Star Wars
episode.