Lover, Not A Fighter

At 26 going on 40, actor and producer John Boyega is redefining what it means to be a leading man now. We’re sitting front row.

- Mickey Rapkin

John Boyega’s Finn was a first for the Star Wars saga: a woke Stormtrooper careening through the galaxy, questioning his purpose. The Force Awakens—and its 2017 sequel, The Last Jedi—propelled Boyega from UK-only fame to children’s toy closets all over the world, in action-figure form. And the 26-year-old star, who discovered acting as a British Nigerian kid growing up in a then-rough neighborhood in south London, has used that cultural capital to create his own opportunities, producing and starring in this month’s sci-fi epic Pacific Rim Uprising, about a hotshot freedom fighter taking on an army of intergalactic sea monsters. Is this some underwater Godzilla, or an epic parable? Boyega speaks.

ELLE: Pacific Rim is a fantasy. But it’s also about nations putting aside their differences to fight a common threat. Is this the sci-fi movie we need now?

JOHN BOYEGA: That really is the big message with it. The best sci-fi is subtle social commentary.

ELLE: You’ve described it as a passion project. Normally, passion projects are low-budget indie films. Why was this so personal?