John Boyega talks about getting cast in The Force Awakens, being on set, and the racist reaction to the first trailer with V Magazine:
“It was unnecessary,” he says of the negativity. “I’m in the movie, what are you going to do about it? You either enjoy it or you don’t. I’m not saying get used to the future, but what is already happening. People of color and women are increasingly being shown on-screen. For things to be whitewashed just doesn’t make sense.”
He says his career choices have been about sidestepping sterotypical roles for black actors. “All the films I’ve done have had a secret commentary on stereotypical mentalities,” he says. “It’s about getting people to drop a prejudiced state of mind and realize, ‘Oh shit we’re just watching normal people.’”