The Irish Times catch up with John Boyega, a hotter property than ever not only after starring in The Last Jedi but by claiming the number one spot at the box office with Pacific Rim: Uprising.
Amongst other topics, John discusses his London upbringing.
John is calmly dismissive of the myth that he fought his way out of the ghetto to become a movie star. That part of London is endlessly diverse and resistant to easy caricature. There are middle-class parts of Peckham. There are deprived areas. It is true that Boyega’s sister was a contemporary and friend of Damilola Taylor, the young black boy murdered in the locale 17 years ago, but John is exhausted by the efforts to reduce his old manor to a clutch of sensationalist headlines.
He wouldn’t describe his upbringing as tough?
“No, I wouldn’t,” he says. “Look, your own circumstances are major. My dad taught me just because you’re in an environment where some people – not all people – are a problem that doesn’t mean you have to do the same things. I get mind-boggled when people try to do a ‘rags to riches’ story. Man, I was in Peckham the other day. What do you mean ‘from Peckham to Hollywood’? I don’t like when they do that.”
I won’t do that.
“Nah, nah. You’re all right. But it’s a strange simplification. I still live about 20 minutes away from where I grew up.”
