John Boyega: ‘I ain’t paying money to always see one type of person on-screen’
John Boyega covers the new issue of GQ. He’s supposed to be promoting his role in Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit, which he does, but a huge chunk of this article and interview is obviously about Star Wars. The Last Jedi comes out later this year and there’s little doubt that Boyega would have gotten the GQ cover if he was merely promoting Detroit, although who knows? Maybe. You can read the full GQ piece here – it’s a good read about a 25-year-old guy who knows he won the lottery. He’s humble, he knows his roots and he seems to be taking advice from the right people. Some highlights:
He sought advice from Robert Downey Jr. before Star Wars: “It was time for me to sit down with someone who’s been through the extremes of Hollywood and to be given some tips as to how to stay stable.” Boyega asked his agent at the time if he could ask Robert Downey Jr.’s agent if Downey wouldn’t mind briefly filling Boyega in on how to just, like, be famous correctly.
Orlando Bloom stopped by the breakfast too: “I’m not used to any of that stuff, hanging out with Iron Man on a day-to-day basis. I was just like, ‘Bloody hell. Is this how the celebrities do?’”
He wanted to ask RDJ about how to get a good woman: “Women. Women, women, women… My mom and dad have been together for 25 years, so that’s the system I will follow.” So, how do you find that kind of partnership when you’re famous enough to casually arrange a mentorship with Robert Downey Jr.? Boyega is borderline wistful as he imagines this ideal woman, equally comfortable in Peckham and Hollywood, going through tough times and dancing on red carpets. “It’s nice to survive with your companion by your side. I’m sure it’s a good thing. But I’ve never experienced it. And people advise you as a celebrity, ‘Make sure you get someone who doesn’t care about your career.’ Mmmm…I disagree,” Boyega told Downey and Bloom. They concurred: “She has to care about it to understand it.”
Harrison Ford asked Boyega on a bro-date in London: Ford wanted “to have a meal somewhere out of the glitzy area.” And since Ford “likes his food really spicy,” Boyega brought him to 805, a Nigerian restaurant next to Ladbrokes, an off-track-betting shop on the main drag of Peckham. Boyega ordered for the table, and they ate pepper soup and okra and beans, Ford forgoing utensils, Boyega says proudly, “like a real Nigerian.” (Ford, with something between pride and deep sarcasm: “Yeah, I’m like a real Nigerian.”) “It was cool for me,” Ford says. “I learned that he had a lot of interests, concerns, and talents that were beyond those that I was immediately aware of from the work we were doing together.”
On watching ‘Detroit’ for the first time: “Yeah, I’d probably only be able to watch this every ten years…. [and that’s because] being black, going through what we’ve been through…the past is still hanging over our heads.”
He’s proud to be part of a franchise with black people: “There are no black people on Game of Thrones…You don’t see one black person in Lord of the Rings…. I ain’t paying money to always see one type of person on-screen. Because you see different people from different backgrounds, different cultures, every day. Even if you’re a racist, you have to live with that. We can ruffle up some feathers.”
[From GQ]
The idea of Orlando Bloom dropping by RDJ’s house unannounced and then sitting down to talk to pre-fame John Boyega about fame and pissing it all away and career longevity… well, that must have been an interesting conversation. I’m sure RDJ did have some great advice. If Orlando Bloom is self-aware, he might have had some good advice too about what pitfalls to avoid. The thing is, I don’t think Orlando is all that self-aware about just how people stopped caring about him once the Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises were over with. As for the stuff about women and how Boyega is looking for a partner who will be around through thick and thin and be apart of his career too… well, Jennifer Garner’s available.
Photos courtesy of Sebastian Kim exclusively for GQ.
Source: John Boyega: ‘I ain’t paying money to always see one type of person on-screen’
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