John Boyega Is Muscling Way Beyond 'Star Wars'
High in the manicured hills of Pomona, New York, a bucolic suburban town in a galaxy far, far away from bustling Manhattan, is where you’ll find John Boyega quietly idling next to an infinity pool. For the best part of a five-hour photo shoot, Boyega has been ‘on’, flexing his newly won biceps and striking poses with a billowing parachute. ‘I feel like I’m in an Adele video,’ he jokes at one moment, crooning ‘Hellooo’ and serving blue steel gazes from the driver’s seat of a bright orange McLaren. When he’s not dancing to Burna Boy, he’s switching in and out of Gucci vests and Dior shorts. The man has indefatigable energy. You’d never guess that he’s fresh off a flight from London, sleep-deprived and famished. ‘I feel sexy,’ he declares. ‘I can’t lie. I feel very, very sexy.’
Days later, when Boyega talks about the feel-good vibes that he emanated on set, the 30-year-old grows more philosophical. ‘You have two options as an artist,’ he says. ‘Fixate on your fatigue or acknowledge that you’ve arrived and express your extreme gratitude. When I was broke and no casting director wanted to see me, if someone said, “We’re going to put you on a plane, take care of your hotel and shoot a Men’s Health cover,” I would’ve cried with joy. Yeah, I just got off a flight, but that’s what the rappers sing about. I’m living it!’
These are indeed the moments Boyega, the British-born son of Nigerian immigrants, dreamed about as a lad in working-class Peckham. Back then, he regularly practised being chat-show charming in his bathroom for future interviews, which doubtless explains why he’s so affable when chatting about how this year promises to be a big one. He’s part of a wave of actors of African descent who are currently storming Hollywood – Daniel Kaluuya, Lupita Nyong’o, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Damson Idris, to name a few. Boyega has three major films being released in coming months: Breaking, The Woman King and They Cloned Tyrone. Then there’s his work with his company, UpperRoom Productions, which has already inked development deals with Netflix and ViacomCBS.
Boyega is returning after an emotionally crippling rough patch that found him contemplating quitting acting. No time off between back-to- back projects – the incessant Star Wars franchise, Pacific Rim: Uprising – left him feeling ‘exhausted, frantic and paranoid’, he says. ‘You’re tired by your own dream, what you love.’ But working with Steve McQueen on his lauded Small Axe television series was a rejuvenating experience that saw him win a Golden Globe and widespread critical acclaim. He also took time to recharge and work on building a stronger version of himself, both physically and mentally. During a break on set, he stands in front of a monitor and stares at images of himself in a yellow windbreaker. He has traded his signature cornrows for a clean fade, and the actor who was once described as ‘being built like a bullet’ has leaned out considerably, as evidenced by his prominent cheekbones and sculpted frame. He’s impressed. ‘That’s real black-boy joy,’ he says gleefully.
Boyega hasn’t always felt so great about his own body, he admits on a road trip the day after the shoot. We’re driving from New York City to Long Island’s Motorcar Classics, the renowned US vintage car dealer, to test drive the 1965 Chevrolet Corvette he’s buying. He already owns a Lamborghini Urus that he keeps in London and a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon at his home in the Caribbean. His newest whip will stay in America.
Boyega is upbeat. He’s in a sharing mood and riffs about his childhood. His family, to whom he’s always been extremely close, grew up without much money. Peckham was full of kebab shops and off-licences. ‘I was chunky as hell,’ he says. ‘Not fat-fat, but I hated being topless because I had a little bit of a hanging belly. I gained weight in the most awkward places while everyone was looking athletic, ripped and lean.’
Proud of his Nigerian heritage, the actor born John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega has an autobiographical sleeve tattoo on his left arm, beginning at the shoulder with an image of Africa and winding down to two depictions of his parents just above his wrist. They immigrated to England in the 1980s. His father, Samson, a Pentecostal minister, and his mother, Abigail, a carer, have been married for 35 years. ‘My mum and dad will always be my heroes because, at the end of the day, they made the fundamental choice, moving from Nigeria and coming over to London,’ he says. ‘If they didn’t make that choice, I don’t think any of us would be here.’
He also has two sisters, Grace and Blessing. They’ve championed his work since he appeared in an update of the African folktale Anansi the Spider in primary school. ‘I used that as an opportunity to crack jokes and flirt with the girls,’ he says. ‘It was cool.’ He enjoyed the attention and the crowd’s positive reception so much that Samson was soon taking him to auditions at local performing arts centres. In those formative years, Boyega learned to deliver Shakespearean monologues, to tap dance and perform plieś, and he perfected his American accent by studying romcoms such as The Best Man and Idris Elba’s portrayal of drug dealer Stringer Bell on The Wire.
He honed his quick-wittedness at Westminster City School, a state-funded secondary academy for boys. ‘Every other morning, [classmates were] cussing the size of your head, the size of your ears… If you don’t know how to snap back, you might end up in some sadness. You have to take a joke, too; know how to laugh at yourself and understand why people may be laughing at you. And then be like, “You know what, if I wasn’t me, I’d probably be laughing at this shit, too.”’
Femi Oguns, Boyega’s drama teacher turned agent, first observed his talent at Identity School of Acting, an academy he founded for talent from marginalised communities in 2003. Having worked with Boyega for more than a decade, he says, ‘It was evident he was someone who had a maturity at a young age, but also had a wonderful openness to the craft. There’s a truth that he brings to everything he does.’ Boyega is drawn to scripts that inspire a visceral reaction. He knows he’s found the right one when his chest begins thumping and he can ‘visualise the film. The concept is clear. The intentions are clear. I’m going through each page and wishing I could read it in five seconds’.
Director JJ Abrams loved him enough as the precocious alien fighter in 2011’s sci-fi comedy Attack The Block to cast him in his Star Wars update years later. A huge Star Wars fan, Boyega auditioned for nearly a year before landing the part of Finn in Abrams’ trilogy. It was a life-changing opportunity that would ultimately prove bittersweet. Yes, it made Boyega rich and gave him access to front-row seats at Burberry runway shows. But it also put him in the crosshairs of racist internet trolls who could accept a world filled with Ewoks and Wookiees, but couldn’t fathom a black stormtrooper.
Actress Moses Ingram, who starred in the recent Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+, endured a similar backlash. But she’s been publicly supported by castmates and Lucasfilm execs were forthcoming about the online abuse she could face. Was Boyega similarly warned? ‘Hell, no!’ he says. ‘I’m the one who brought this to the forefront.’ He says he was blindsided by the racist vitriol hurled at him and at times it made him question if he wanted to be part of the sci-fi juggernaut. Boyega has consistently voiced frustrations about how his character was underdeveloped and ultimately marginalised. He remains vocal about feeling unsupported in those days, which he hopes has compelled execs to become more accountable to actors of colour. ‘At least the people going into it now, after my time, [they’re] cool,’ he says. Lucasfilm is ‘going to make sure you’re well supported and at least you [now] go through this franchise knowing that everyone is going to have [your] back. I’m glad I talked out everything at that time’.
His sister Grace says he’s been outspoken since childhood. ‘Whatever John believes in, he’s going to stand by it,’ she says. His controversial speech at a 2020 Black Lives Matter rally in Hyde Park wasn’t planned. That day, he and Grace had intended to quietly protest about the death of George Floyd. However, one of the march organisers handed the actor a megaphone and invited him to speak from his heart. He did. In a nearly five-minute monologue, he was angry, raw and breathtakingly honest about the trials of being black in a world that rates him as a second-class citizen. ‘I need you to understand how painful it is to be reminded every day that your race means nothing,’ Boyega announced, which immediately went viral and cemented him in the annals of activist artists.
‘Any of us keeping our mouth shut at this point, it doesn’t really feel comfortable,’ he later tells me. ‘Because even if you’re British, [you’re] working in the States – the gun’s going to go off before your accent does.’ His message for people still bothered by his bluntness and unapologetic embrace of the BLM movement is simple: ‘Our empowerment is not your demise,’ he says. Did he experience a backlash? ‘Of course there’s backlash! [Both] seen and unseen,’ he says cryptically. ‘It’s just how it goes. You see who’s for you and who’s really not. [But] this is who I am. I’m going to speak about what I believe in and make sure that whatever I do is aimed at supporting the people.’
Nevertheless, reaching this level of self-acceptance came at a cost for Boyega. ‘Ambition is my battery power,’ he says. Aged just 19, he decided he wanted seven figures in his bank before he turned 25. ‘And I was a millionaire by probably 22 or 23.’ He purchased a new home for his parents with one of his first big pay cheques. But that ambition drove him to feel like he ‘had to say yes to everything’ on his way up. ‘It’s tiring and it’s stressful, as well as dealing with the fact that you eventually have to perform,’ he says. ‘There are many different ways careers can exhaust you, but the artistic way is unique.’
The physical aspect of Boyega’s post-Star Wars rebuild involved working out for 90 minutes, five or six days a week, with London-based trainer Tim Blakeley. His fitness regimen, a mix of cardio, weight training and yoga, is as effective as it is excruciating. ‘Leg day is the worst,’ he says. ‘All the training I do is about detail, posture and getting the most out of each rep.’ I ask what kind of music fuels his gym workouts, half-expecting playlists featuring old-school hip-hop or ratchet rap. But far from it. ‘I rarely listen to music with lyrics in the gym,’ he says. ‘I listen to movie scores. I love Hans Zimmer, I love Harry Gregson-Williams.’ Epic orchestral soundtracks from the likes of Gladiator, Inception or The Dark Knight are his go-tos. ‘It’s harder to run on the treadmill when someone like Drake is talking about being on a jet,’ he jokes. ‘The workouts I do [are] hard. I need me some motivation.’
Boyega has also reworked his diet. Ditching sugar was a ‘massive’ game changer. ‘That’s my enemy,’ he says. ‘Doughnuts, chocolate, sweets, fizzy drinks… the stuff that kills you. I had to get rid of that habit.’ His diet now consists of Grace’s nutritious, home-cooked meals – lots of lean chicken and jollof rice. But resetting mentally was perhaps the most difficult. Boyega explains how he found guidance from fellow franchise star Robert Downey Jr, who has struggled with his own challenges. ‘I am interested in people who go to dark spaces and are able to flip that,’ he says. Downey Jr reassured him that while you might go through some turbulence, you’ll find who you are within it all. It might be rocky, but you’ll come out the end with a solid identity. ‘And that’s literally what happened to me,’ Boyega says.
He learned to surround himself with trusted friends and family. ‘You choose your circle who can accept how you express yourself. Once you feel that acceptance, they can help you, help motivate you. That’s your safe place as a celebrity. So you can actually complain. I still want to say that shit. Like, this is petty, but I want to tell my sisters, “Oh, this is just how I feel.” And they’re going to be like, “This is petty, but yeah, I hear you.” Whereas in the world, it’s going to be like, “You’re a fucking millionaire, you idiot! You know what I had to do this morning? And you’re complaining about that?” Let me just chill and complain to the people that understand that I’m not trying to be evil. It’s just today, I’m sad. I’m experiencing [this phase of my career] as a more balanced person who is willing to improve. I know it’s a weird, random thing to say, but I’m willing to say sorry.’
There are two main things that Boyega wanted to achieve upon entering the business: to disrupt the industry and to make history. ‘But nothing has changed, says Oguns. ‘For John, it was never about trying to fit into the box. He wants to be the outline of the box.’ That’s why, his agent explains, Boyega has sidestepped playing enslaved people or drug dealers or appearing in clichéd sports movies. ‘For John, it’s all about accountability. He doesn’t want to be defined by stereotypical roles.’ How about the rumours that Boyega has secretly joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe? ‘That’s not in my vision right now,’ he says. ‘I want to do nuanced things. I want to donate my services to original indie films that come with new, fresh ideas. Because I know it’s hard to top Iron Man in that universe.’
Boyega describes one of his upcoming films, They Cloned Tyrone, as a ‘unique and strange story that blew me away’. It’s a bedazzling, at times bewildering tale of pimps, prostitutes and the uncovering of mystery. Boyega plays multiple clones, ranging in age from 28 to 78, and co-stars with Jamie Foxx, who unsurprisingly went a long way towards making it the most fun he’s ever had on set. ‘We were filming all over Atlanta, so you can imagine the energy. We in the strip clubs, we in the streets,’ Boyega says. ‘It was a joy.’
Flexing a different kind of dramatic muscle alongside Viola Davis in historical thriller The Woman King, Boyega plays King Ghezo, a conflicted ruler in late 19th-century west Africa. Out in October, it tells the story of the Dahomey warriors, a fearless band of female fighters who battled European colonisers. When asked why he joined the project, Boyega’s eyes light up. ‘The fact that I would be able to speak in my father’s accent, in my native tongue, and portray something that’s completely different from what I’ve done before, I was like, “Yeah, I’m coming. I want to be part of that big-time.”’
In his third major project of the year, Breaking, Boyega stretches yet again. It’s a film based on the true story of a Marine veteran whose PTSD leads him to stage a botched bank robbery, and Boyega shines as a diminished man, abandoned by his country and fighting to maintain his dignity. His performance is already being compared to Al Pacino’s virtuosic turn in the 1970s classic Dog Day Afternoon.
The movie gave him an opportunity to act opposite one of the titans he used to watch on The Wire, Michael K Williams, who plays a hostage negotiator. Working with Williams, who died of an accidental drug overdose in 2021, was, he says, ‘phenomenal. And when I met him, it was a full-circle moment for me’. Williams gifted him a cologne from a small black-owned business in their first days on set. ‘It’s finishing and I feel sad about it,’ he says. ‘I always say that Michael K Williams is the nicest-smelling man in the industry. His smell is ridiculous.’
During the two-hour trip to the car dealership, Boyega entertains and charms with tales of his newly adopted roller-skating hobby – ‘I’m bloody good! The way I turn corners, it don’t make no sense!’ – as well as his search for the ideal companion. His parents’ long marriage and egalitarian partnership has been hugely inspirational. ‘My dad would plait my sisters’ hair while my mum was cooking,’ he says. ‘They’re inseparable at this point.’ He, too, wants a ride-or-die woman who’s curious, quick to laugh and spontaneous. Plus, he adds, grinning slyly, ‘I like them thick and brown.’
Finally, we arrive at Motorcar Classics, where sleek rides, lovingly restored to their youthful glory, preen like prom queens. We check out 1970s Stingrays and 1980s Ferraris. Plus, of course, Boyega’s Corvette, a silver beauty with sumptuous red-leather interior. But it’s the Aston Martin, with its significant pedigree and the number plate JB 007, that causes the actor to stop in his tracks.
Coincidence? Or could it be subtly announcing that he’s appearing in another iconic franchise soon, trading lightsabers for shaken martinis, perhaps? No, Boyega says with a glint in his eyes. ‘But you know if they give me that call, I’ll be there.’
This story appears in the September 2022 issue of Men's Health.
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