Nigerian actor gets ‘main role’ in Star Wars 7 movie, guess who (PICTURED)
A British-Nigerian actor who recently starred as “Ugwu” in the movie, Half of a Yellow Sun has been announced as part of the cast of the new Star Wars movie.
22-year-old John Boyega, who was born in the United Kingdom to Nigerian parents, has been announced as part of the cast of Stars Wars VII.
Boyega is best known for his performance in 2011 film Attack the Block and his more recent role alongside Thandie Newton and Chiwetel Ejiofor in an adaptation of Chimamanda Adichie’s novel.
The Mirror reports:
John was born in Peckham, London, to Nigerian parents. He caught the acting bug early and made a compelling appearance as a leopard in a primary school play when he was five.
He went on to study acting at the Identity Drama School in Hackney and won roles in productions with the National and Tricycle Theatres before his breakthrough role in Attack the Block.
The cult film helped launch his career and he went on to star in 2012 film My Murder,
gangster movie Imperial Dreams earlier this year and is set to appear in the upcoming season of 24, called 24: Live Another Day.
John is rumoured to have bagged a ‘main role’ in Star Wars VII, and is thought to have beaten off competition from the likes of Breaking Bad’s Jesse Plemons and Downton Abbey’s Ed Speleers.
He’ll be the first black lead in the series, if you don’t count James Earl Jones who voiced Darth Vader.
