Peckham's own, John Boyega, turns 24 today (March 17), and he's undoubtedly one of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood. He's currently one film deep into a trilogy that will launch him into the upper echelons of super-stardom.
That's quite a feat, so it's totally understandable that he spent his birthday in the VIP section of the Miami Garden Club popping magnums of Aces.
Except he didn't do that at all, he tweeted saying he had no plans today and wondered if anyone in London wanted to hang. Empire Magazine asked Boyega if he'd come to the office if they supplied a cake. He accepted the invitation.
Real life John Boyega isn't too distant from his Star Wars counterpart, Finn; down to earth, cheeky, confident and extremely likeable.
But his character in Star Wars is far removed from the role that introduced him to many, as troubled youth Moses in Joe Cornish's utterly distinct 2011 Sci-Fi thriller Attack The Block. In the movie, a young Boyega plays the leader of a teenage gang who mug a woman on her way home on bonfire night.
Advert
The boys and their victim then become intertwined as aliens attack the council estate and the unlikely group must work together to survive.He was a character you loved to hate and hated to love. Boyega's performance was so memorable that a lot of people seemed to blur fiction and reality.
After the release of Attack The Block, some publications appeared to paint Boyega as a roadman from South London who finally made it out the hood. That's not the case. "I spent most of my time dancing and acting. Guns and knives mean nothing to me. I had a multicultural society to take advantage of. I worked hard and ended up where I am today," he told The Telegraph.
He's been acting since the age of nine, and by 13 he was appearing in productions at the Royal Albert Hall before later joining the Identity School of Acting in Hackney.
While 'Man Leaves Ghetto To Find a New Home In A Galaxy Far, Far Away' might make eye-catching copy, that takes away from Boyega's determination to the cause, and a knack to nail it first time round. Attack The Block was a chance for an unknown actor to go from heel to face, WWE style, in under 120 minutes.
Advert
The young actor made the role his own. So much so, that J.J. Abrams noticed the performance and said to the young Londoner "We're going to get you in something." And he did, obviously.
It feels as if there is no ego associated with the 24-year-old - he has an undeniable talent and that's his driving force.
Despite his newfound fame, Boyega told Vogue that his "life back home in London is still pretty normal."
Pretty normal - just like John himself.
By the time Episode IX drops in 2019, Boyega could well be the most famous actor on the planet, but you'll probably still be able to find him taking Harrison Ford to eat Nigerian food in Peckham.
Advert
Happy birthday, lad.
Words by Matthew Cooper
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Star Wars
