John Boyega - wikipedia John Boyega John Boyega Boyega at the 2015 San Diego Comic - Con International John Adedayo B Adegboyega ( 1992 - 03 - 17 ) 17 March 1992 ( age 25 ) London, England Alma mater University of Greenwich Occupation Actor Years active 2011 -- present John Adedayo B. Adegboyega ( born 17 March 1992 ), known professionally as John Boyega, is an English actor best known for playing Finn in the 2015 film Star Wars : The Force Awakens, the seventh film of the Star Wars series, and its 2017 sequel Star Wars : The Last Jedi. Boyega rose to prominence in his native United Kingdom for his role as Moses in the 2011 sci - fi comedy film Attack the Block. Boyega 's other credits include historical drama film Detroit ( 2017 ), four episodes of the television series 24 : Live Another Day and the drama Imperial Dreams ( 2014 ). Boyega received the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Filmography 3.1 Film 3.2 Television 3.3 Stage 3.4 Video games 3.5 Theme park attractions 4 References 5 External links Early life Boyega was born in London, England on 17 March 1992 to British Nigerian parents, Abigail ( née Aboderin ), and Samson Adegboyega, a Pentecostal minister. His first role was a leopard in a play at his primary school. Boyega was a pupil at Oliver Goldsmith Primary School. While acting in a play there at the age of nine, he was noticed by Teresa Early, the artistic director of Theatre Peckham, a learning theatre for young people who live in south London. After obtaining financial assistance from a hardship fund, he joined the theatre, spending his time there outside school hours between the ages of nine and 14. Boyega 's father, a preacher, had wanted Boyega to become a preacher too, but was supportive of his son 's theatrical interests. In 2003, Boyega started his secondary education at Westminster City School, where he took part in various school productions. Between 2008 and 2010, he attended South Thames College at the college 's Wandsworth campus to study for a National Diploma in Performing Arts. His activities at the college included playing the title role in the college 's production of Othello. He enrolled at the University of Greenwich to study BA Film Studies & Media Writing, but dropped out to focus on acting. Career Sundance Film Festival, 2014 : John Boyega ( 2nd from the left ), together with Josh Wiggins, Kodi Smit - McPhee and Sharon Swart ( from the left to the right ) Boyega trained at the Identity School of Acting in Hackney, and appeared in Six Parties at the National Theatre and Category B at the Tricycle Theatre prior to being offered a role in the 2011 film Attack the Block. In September 2011, HBO announced that Boyega had been cast in the boxing drama pilot Da Brick, loosely based on Mike Tyson 's life. Boyega was expected to play Donnie, who is released from a juvenile detention centre on his 18th birthday and begins to examine what it means to be a man. The pilot was written by John Ridley, but was not picked up by HBO. Also in 2011, he acted in the film Junkhearts in which he portrayed Jamal, a drug dealer who finds some guns and tries to sell them. Boyega was chosen by Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International as one of the `` UK Stars of Tomorrow 2011 '' and appeared alongside two other actors on the front cover of that magazine in its July 2011 edition. In March 2012, Boyega was cast in the film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 's book Half of a Yellow Sun. On 29 April 2014, it was confirmed that Boyega had been cast as a lead character in Star Wars : The Force Awakens. It was later revealed Boyega would play Finn, a stormtrooper for the First Order, who leaves the military power after witnessing their cruelty in his first combat mission before joining the fight against them. The film was released on 18 December 2015. Both the film and Boyega 's performance received acclaim from both audiences and critics. In January 2016, Boyega formed his own production company, Upperroom Entertainment Limited. In June 2016, Boyega announced that his company would be co-producing the sequel to the 2013 movie Pacific Rim titled Pacific Rim : Uprising alongside Legendary Entertainment. Boyega will also play the lead role in the project. In 2017, Boyega starred in Detroit, Kathryn Bigelow 's film about the 1967 Detroit riots. The same year, he reprised his role as Finn in Star Wars : The Last Jedi. Filmography Film Year Title Role Director Notes 2011 Attack the Block Moses Joe Cornish Black Reel Award for Best Actor Nominated -- Black Reel Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated -- Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Nominated -- British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer Nominated -- Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer Nominated -- Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer Nominated -- London Film Critics ' Circle Award for Young British Performer of the Year Junkhearts Jamal Tinge Krishnan 2013 Half of a Yellow Sun Ugwu Biyi Bandele 2014 Imperial Dreams Bambi Malik Vitthal 2015 Star Wars : The Force Awakens FN - 2187 / Finn J.J. Abrams BAFTA Rising Star Award Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer Nominated -- Georgia Film Critics Association for Best Ensemble Nominated -- Golden Schmoes Award for Breakthrough Performance Nominated -- MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated -- MTV Movie Award for Best Action Performance Nominated -- MTV Movie Award for Best Ensemble Nominated -- Nickelodeon Kids ' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor Nominated -- Saturn Award for Best Actor 2017 The Circle Ty James Ponsoldt Detroit Melvin Dismukes Kathryn Bigelow Star Wars : The Last Jedi Finn Rian Johnson 2018 Pacific Rim : Uprising Jake Pentecost Steven S. DeKnight Also producer Post-production Television Year Title Role Notes 2011 Da Brick Donnie Pilot 2011 Becoming Human Danny Curtis 4 episodes 2011 Law & Order : UK Jamal Clarkson Episode : `` Survivor 's Guilt '' 2012 My Murder Shakilus Townsend Television film 2013 The Whale William Bond Television film 2014 24 : Live Another Day Chris Tanner 4 episodes 2015 Major Lazer Blkmrkt ( voice ) 10 episodes 2015 Saturday Night Live Himself Segment : `` Star Wars : The Force Awakens Screen Tests '' 2016 Tinkershrimp & Dutch Dutch ( voice ) 5 episodes 2017 Star Wars Forces of Destiny Finn 2018 Watership Down Bigwig ( voice ) 4 episodes Stage Year Title Role Notes Othello Othello South Thames College 2017 Woyzeck Woyzeck Old Vic Theatre Video games Year Title Role Notes 2015 Disney Infinity 3.0 Finn Voice 2016 Lego Star Wars : The Force Awakens Finn Voice Theme park attractions Year Title Role Notes 2015 Star Tours -- The Adventures Continue Finn Scene added for seasonal Season of the Force promotion References Jump up ^ Itzkoff, Dave ( 22 July 2011 ). `` John Boyega in Joe Cornish 's ' Attack the Block ' ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2014. Jump up ^ Okoroafor, Cynthia ( 17 December 2015 ). `` Star Wars opens today, and star Nigerian John Boyega is stealing the spotlight ''. VENTURES AFRICA. Retrieved 31 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Attack of John Boyega ''. Interview. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2012. Jump up ^ Brown, Emma ( 28 January 2014 ). `` John Boyega : The Best of Next ''. Interview. Retrieved 12 October 2017. Jump up ^ Palmer, Jim ( 8 December 2015 ). `` Everything you need to know about John Boyega -- from Peckham to Wandsworth to Greenwich to Star Wars Episode VII : The Force Awakens ''. News Shopper. Retrieved 31 January 2016. ^ Jump up to : Turner, Camilla ( 24 April 2015 ). `` Star Wars : John Boyega, the boy from Peckham who stormed Hollywood ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 October 2015. Jump up ^ Turner, Camilla ( 25 April 2015 ). `` Star Wars : Five things you did n't know about John Boyega ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Theatre Peckham ''. Theatre Peckham. Retrieved 31 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` Memorable OWCs ''. Old Westminster Citizens ' Association. Retrieved 31 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` From South Thames to Star Wars : college star lands role in a Galaxy Far Far Away ''. South Thames College. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` Back to college for Star Wars actor ''. South Thames College. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Force is strong with Greenwich ''. University of Greenwich. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` Hall of Fame ''. identitydramaschool.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2012. Jump up ^ `` Attack the Block feature item ''. dvd365.net. 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012. Jump up ^ Yamato, Jen ( 1 August 2011 ). `` Attack the Block 's John Boyega on Going ' From Hoodie to Hero, ' and Taking Hollywood by Storm ''. Movieline. Retrieved 24 June 2012. Jump up ^ Wightman, Catriona ( 1 September 2011 ). `` John Boyega to star in Mike Tyson, Spike Lee HBO pilot ' Da Brick ' -- US TV News ''. Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 June 2012. Jump up ^ Jeffery, Morgan ( 14 March 2012 ). `` ' Da Brick ' : HBO passes on Mike Tyson boxing drama -- US TV News ''. Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 June 2012. Jump up ^ `` Stars of Tomorrow 2011 ''. Screen Daily. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2014. Jump up ^ Pearson, Ben ( 29 March 2012 ). `` Attack the Block star John Boyega joins Half of a Yellow Sun ''. Filmonic. Retrieved 24 June 2012. Jump up ^ `` Star Wars : Episode VII Cast Announced ''. StarWars.com. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014. Jump up ^ Bradshaw, Peter. `` Star Wars : The Force Awakens review -- ' a spectacular homecoming ' ''. The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 18 January 2016. Jump up ^ McWeeny, Drew ( December 16, 2015 ). `` Review : JJ Abrams breathes new life into ' Star Wars ' with ' The Force Awakens ' ''. HitFix. Retrieved December 19, 2015. Jump up ^ @ JohnBoyega ( 6 June 2016 ). `` So happy ! My company UpperRoom Productions founded by myself & @ MrFemiOguns, will co-produce # PacificRim2 alongside @ Legendary '' ( Tweet ) -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ Fleming, Mike ( 2016 - 06 - 06 ). `` ' Star Wars ' Star John Boyega Takes Lead In ' Pacific Rim ' Sequel ''. Deadline. Retrieved 2016 - 12 - 21. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ Cohen, Sandy ( 15 December 2017 ). `` John Boyega talks ' Last Jedi, ' personal parallels ''. The Advocate. Associated Press. Jump up ^ BAFTA Editors ( January 5, 2016 ). `` EE Rising Star Award in 2016 ''. British Academy Film Awards. Retrieved January 5, 2016. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ John Nugent ( March 11, 2016 ). `` Jameson Empire Awards 2016 : Star Wars and Mad Max lead the nominations ''. Empire Awards. Retrieved February 18, 2016. Jump up ^ Georgia Film Critics Association Editors ( January 4, 2016 ). `` Georgia Film Critics Association 2015 Awards ''. Georgia Film Critics Association. Retrieved January 4, 2016. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Berge Garabedian ( January 8, 2016 ). `` Golden Schmoes 2015 Awards ''. Golden Schmoes. Retrieved March 11, 2016. Jump up ^ Lovett, Jamie ( February 18, 2016 ). `` Kids ' Choice Awards : Adele, Justin Bieber, ' Star Wars ' Among Nominees ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 11, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Saturn Award nominations ''. Saturn Awards. February 24, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Saturn Award nominations on YouTube ''. Saturn Awards. February 24, 2016. Jump up ^ Sarah Deen ( 5 January 2016 ). `` John Boyega joins Nickelodeon 's Tinkershrimp & Dutch ''. Metro.co.uk. Jump up ^ Errico, Marcus ( July 3, 2017 ). `` New Star Wars Cartoon Shorts Debut Online, Bringing Female Heroes in Full Force ''. Yahoo !. Retrieved July 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` John Boyega to star in Woyzeck at the Old Vic Theatre ''. Tuppence Magazine. March 18, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Boyega. John Boyega on IMDb BAFTA Rising Star Award 2006 -- present James McAvoy ( 2006 ) Eva Green ( 2007 ) Shia LaBeouf ( 2008 ) Noel Clarke ( 2009 ) Kristen Stewart ( 2010 ) Tom Hardy ( 2011 ) Adam Deacon ( 2012 ) Juno Temple ( 2013 ) Will Poulter ( 2014 ) Jack O'Connell ( 2015 ) John Boyega ( 2016 ) Tom Holland ( 2017 ) Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer Tom Hiddleston ( 2012 ) Tom Holland ( 2013 ) Aidan Turner ( 2014 ) Taron Egerton ( 2015 ) John Boyega ( 2016 ) Dave Johns ( 2017 ) Trophée Chopard 2000s Eduardo Noriega / Audrey Tautou ( 2001 ) Hayden Christensen / Paz Vega / Ludivine Sagnier ( 2002 ) Gael García Bernal / Diane Kruger ( 2003 ) Rodrigo Santoro / Marion Cotillard ( 2004 ) Jonathan Rhys Meyers / Kelly Reilly ( 2005 ) Kevin Zegers / Jasmine Trinca ( 2006 ) Nick Cannon / Archie Panjabi ( 2007 ) Omar Metwally / Tang Wei ( 2008 ) David Kross / Léa Seydoux ( 2009 ) 2010s Edward Hogg / Liya Kebede ( 2010 ) Niels Schneider / Àstrid Bergès - Frisbey ( 2011 ) Ezra Miller / Shailene Woodley ( 2012 ) Jeremy Irvine / Blanca Suárez ( 2013 ) Logan Lerman / Adèle Exarchopoulos ( 2014 ) Jack O'Connell / Lola Kirke ( 2015 ) John Boyega / Bel Powley ( 2016 ) George MacKay / Anya Taylor - Joy ( 2017 ) VIAF : 187182175 LCCN : no2011167699 ISNI : 0000 0003 5757 7209 SUDOC : 181325691 BNF : cb165804505 ( data ) BNE : XX5224596 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Boyega&oldid=821737025 '' Categories : 1992 births 21st - century English male actors BAFTA winners ( people ) Black English male actors Black British male actors English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors English people of Nigerian descent English people of Yoruba descent Living people Male actors from London People from Peckham Yoruba male actors Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected biographies of living people EngvarB from December 2015 Use dmy dates from December 2015 Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 22 January 2018, at 09 : 21. 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Question: actor who plays finn in the force awakens
Answer: John Adedayo B. Adegboyega