John Boyega came “full circle” as he starred in 892.
The 29-year-old actor stepped in to replace Jonathan Majors in the thriller and collaborated with co-writer Kwame Kwei-Armah, who cast Boyega in his first acting role in the 2009 theatre play Seize the Day.
The Star Wars actor told The Hollywood Reporter: “I was pretty much relaxing after spending time with my family, and then I got a call from my agent about this project.
“He put this story in front of me years ago, but scheduling didn’t allow us to do it. So, it came full circle.”
Boyega had exited the Netflix project Rebel Ridge before being cast in the movie and admits that he was taken by surprise to be back working again so soon.
He recalled: “It was definitely a 180. Especially at the time, I didn’t have the intention of working so soon.”
Boyega explained how he had to delve deep to perfect the character and feared that a break in filming due to coronavirus would negatively impact his performance in the flick.
The Small Axe star said: “I like to say there are some roles where you can use elements of yourself to help prompt your knowledge of the role, and then there are some roles that you just did not go through, and you have gotta act.”
Boyega continued: “I had like a few weeks off to recover and then came back and finished it off. That really worried me because we’re in a streak, like getting into the meat of it. And then it happened, and I was like, ‘Damn, I’m gonna lose the flow.'”
