If the past couple of years has taught us anything about John Boyega, it’s that the young actor isn’t the type of person to sit back and bite his tongue when he has something to say. Whether that’s regarding the current political climate or how his character was treated in the “Star Wars” films, Boyega is always on the front line talking about what he honestly thinks. And in a new interview with THR, he further explained why he feels it’s important to speak up and how that led to an unplanned discussion with the higher-ups at Disney.
“I’m the type of person that came into an industry in which I felt there was, not to give it the L.A. stab, just a lot of pretense,” Boyega explained. “I don’t roll like that. I’ve been in situations in life in which I know what it feels like to have your life at risk. There are deeper things going on here. I don’t care about trying to mesh in with the system in order to secretly work it. That’s just not my way. Everyone’s just got to have an honest and open conversation. It doesn’t have to be conflicting or rude, but it’s a chance for us to actually, really and truly understand where each other is coming from.”
And it’s that mindset that led to a previous interview with GQ from back in September, when Boyega said, in no uncertain terms, that Disney knew “fuck all” what to do with his “Star Wars” character, Finn, and the character played by Kelly Marie Tran, Rose. The frankness of the quote, along with his general displeasure with how the “Star Wars” sequels ended up, apparently led to a phone call from an unnamed Disney executive.
“It was a very honest, a very transparent conversation,” the actor said. “There was a lot of explaining on their end in terms of the way they saw things. They gave me a chance also to explain what my experience was like.”
He continued, “I’d hope that me being so open with my career, at this stage, would help the next man, the guy that wants to be the assistant DOP, the guy that wants to be a producer. I hope that the conversation is not such a taboo or elephant in the room now, because someone just came and said it.”
Of course, his career in the “Star Wars” universe is likely already over, given that Lucasfilm seems to moving away from the characters introduced in the Sequel Trilogy. However, as Boyega said, it’s more about the next guy and the idea that his speaking out can make it easier for other actors in the future.