‘Star Wars’ Actor John Boyega Opens Up About Disney Sidelining POC Characters
Image via Silvia Elizabeth Pangaro / Shutterstock.com
John Boyega starred as a stormtrooper in Disney’s 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Back then, he had faced backlash as some fans weren’t pleased with a Black person being cast for the role.
Boyega has now spoken out about his experience with the franchise in an interview with British GQ magazine.
The actor voiced out about how his character, which had an essential role in the first movie of the latest remake, faded to become a background character as the plot began to focus more on Rey and Kylo Ren, played by Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver respectively.
“What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side,” Boyega said.
He also emphasized that every person of color (POC), including Naomi Ackie, Kelly Marie Tran, and Oscar Isaac, in the films was also sidelined.
“Like, you guys knew what to do with Daisy Ridley, you knew what to do with Adam Driver,” he said. “You knew what to do with these other people, but when it came to Kelly Marie Tran when it came to John Boyega, you know f**k all. So what do you want me to say?”
Although the actor said that being involved in the franchise was an “amazing opportunity” and a “stepping stone,” he is still unhappy with the way he was being marketed and then ignored.
“What they want you to say is, ‘I enjoyed being a part of it. It was a great experience…’ Nah, Nah, nah. I’ll take that deal when it’s a great experience,” Boyega told the publication.
“They gave all the nuance to Adam Driver, all the nuance to Daisy Ridley. Let’s be honest. Daisy knows this. Adam knows this. Everybody knows. I’m not exposing anything,” he added.
In his first interview since finishing #StarWars and that unguarded address from a Hyde Park stage, our October cover star, @JohnBoyega explains how both platforms inspired him to make a stand, but for very different reasons: https://t.co/klRRrK5wR8 pic.twitter.com/EnqiTFmFSs
— British GQ (@BritishGQ) September 2, 2020
[via CNN, cover image via Silvia Elizabeth Pangaro / Shutterstock.com]
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