John Boyega likes to change up the script.
The “Star Wars” star believes its important for actors to portray characters who are different from themselves, and says it is up to the actors to define what that means in today’s social climate, he told TMZ Live in a new interview.
“Every role I’ve played, I’ve had to change something fundamentally, a difference to how I am in real life,” Boyega said. “Even if it’s Finn in ‘Star Wars,’ I’m nothing like the character. We have to change ourselves to become somebody else.
“But I guess in this climate, where things are getting a bit more political and sensitive, it’s just important for actors to define what that is, why I was trained, rather than the audience defining what we are,” Boyega said. “And what we are are people who essentially have to play other people. It’s not supposed to be solely just based on who you are, or different kind of charismatic versions of yourself.”
The London-born Boyega, 30, rose to fame playing the Stormtrooper-turned-hero Finn in the latest “Star Wars” trilogy, and won a Golden Globe last year for his performance in “Small Axe” of Leroy Logan, a London cop who founded the National Black Police Association and worked to reform law enforcement in the United Kingdom.
His latest film, “Breaking,” stars Boyega as a military veteran who robs a bank while struggling financially.
Boyega recently told SiriusXM Progress that he doesn’t expect to return to “Star Wars.”
“At this point I’m cool off it,” Boyega said. “I’m good off it. I think to be fair, the allies that I’ve found within Joel Taylor and Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris, Viola Davis, all these people I’ve been working with, versatility is my path. And I think Finn is at a good confirmation point where you can just enjoy him in other things, the games, the animation.”
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