John Boyega was 'hungry for the right kind of role' after Star Wars

John Boyega was "hungry for the right kind of role" after 'Star Wars'.

The 30-year old actor starred as stormtrooper Finn in three instalments of the Disney sci-fi franchise from 2015 until 2019, and explained that he felt typecast until landing the role of real-life Marine Corps veteran Lance Corporal Brian Brown-Easley in the new thriller 'Breaking'.

He said: "I'm really enjoying it. If we look at 'Attack the Block', that's kind of how I was pretty much found, being central to a story and being the actor who plays the character who forces the story forward. It's very exciting and it's a huge responsibility but at the same time it's a chance to collaborate with the best people."

"I was hungry for the right kind of role. I felt like Hollywood had it twisted. All these roles that I was reading I was like ‘Nah this is not for me.’ Just 2D stuff. Like ‘Oh well, he did ‘Star Wars’ so he’d probably want to do that kind of mentality. I wasn’t getting the Steve McQueen or the Viola Davis approach."

The 'Imperial Dreams' actor - who stars alongside Nicole Beharie and the late Michael K. Williams in what became his penultimate screen role before he suffered an overdose at the age of 54 in 2021 - added that until he landed the part in the movie he wasn't getting the "chance" to elevate his career and did not want to "bore" his fans in any way.

Speaking on the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast, he added: "I wasn’t getting the opportunity to elevate. This came out of nowhere. I needed a role that was challenging so my audience can be entertained in a new fresh way because I do not want to bore my audience in any way."