Speaker 1: You're listening to Comedy Central, please welcome John Boyega. All right,
Speaker 1: but Noah, so finally missed John Boyega. What's good, I'm doing?
Speaker 1: You looking great man? Thank you man. They decided to
Speaker 1: go Angel Gabriel today. You know you're pulling it off.
Speaker 1: Let's jump straight into the movie. Congratulations. You know, I
Speaker 1: know you're capable of doing everything. You know. I've seen
Speaker 1: you do comedy, I've seen you in action, I've seen
Speaker 1: you in drama. This film feels like a slight twist
Speaker 1: on what we've seen you do before. It's really intense
Speaker 1: and it's a really powerful story that I think comments
Speaker 1: on what's going on in America today. Talk me through it,
Speaker 1: like how did you get into this project and what
Speaker 1: made you go, Yeah, you know what, this is the
Speaker 1: next movie for me. I read an amazing script that
Speaker 1: to me just kind of jumped off the page. The
Speaker 1: character of Brian is so com okay, it complicated his
Speaker 1: situation and his circumstance going to the bank trying to
Speaker 1: demand his money back from the Veterans Affairs was something
Speaker 1: that was just interesting. Um. And it's just a combination
Speaker 1: of who you're working with, Nicoleba, Harry Selena's Michael Kay Williams.
Speaker 1: You know, this is a cast that made me definitely
Speaker 1: get out of bed. Yeah, no, yeah. You know, you
Speaker 1: know what a lot about a story like this is,
Speaker 1: you know, is that one it's based in the truth,
Speaker 1: you know, that's the first thing. And secondly, you can
Speaker 1: see the humanity in the story telling. You have this
Speaker 1: man who goes, I've served this country, I thought for
Speaker 1: this country, the story many veterans haven't use and then
Speaker 1: they come home and then their country. Yeah, it was
Speaker 1: it was actually shocking to even hear about the story,
Speaker 1: and and shocking that I hadn't heard about it, you know,
Speaker 1: in a sense that it happened in two thousand and
Speaker 1: seventeen and this is just literally a few years ago,
Speaker 1: and it's something that none of us kind of happened
Speaker 1: under our nose. But to hear the detail about what
Speaker 1: vets are going through when they come home, that integration
Speaker 1: back into public life, it's it's kind of complicated for
Speaker 1: me as an actor, you know, I'm just play a
Speaker 1: small part in the jigsaw puzzle and exposing such a
Speaker 1: story and sspected. I think what you also do really
Speaker 1: well is you you you humanize the character you know, so,
Speaker 1: so it's not just a veteran It's not it's not
Speaker 1: just a situation. This is about a human being who
Speaker 1: who who is in the situation. I mean you you talked,
Speaker 1: for instance, to the real version of the characters like
Speaker 1: like his, his, his ex wife, and you talked about
Speaker 1: the journey. What did you learn about the human being
Speaker 1: that you're going to be portraying on the screen. She
Speaker 1: she told us so many gems and it's specifics. As
Speaker 1: an actor, I want to hear how this man smoke.
Speaker 1: I want to hear about his interests. He was very
Speaker 1: much into movies, nerds stuff that I'm into. His voice
Speaker 1: quite timid most of the time, so in scenes like
Speaker 1: Abby would remind me, our director would remind me. Remember
Speaker 1: what Brian's wife said, he has a quite timid voice,
Speaker 1: his walk. You know, we have CCTV for each documentation
Speaker 1: about the case, and that ll just helps to inform
Speaker 1: you know, the performance, and that's what you know. I
Speaker 1: used to go through his Brian, you did a great
Speaker 1: job and doing it. And as you say, like the
Speaker 1: team that's working with you, I mean, everyone deserves to
Speaker 1: be lorded. But you know, obviously you know Michael Kay Williams,
Speaker 1: you have a legend Whio we last? Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: this is I think it will be the last film
Speaker 1: that we get to see him. Think so he might
Speaker 1: he might have one after. I'm not sure, but this
Speaker 1: is this is one of the last, at the very
Speaker 1: least year. The story getting to it was amazing because
Speaker 1: if if I understand correctly, you basically have to beg
Speaker 1: them and you have to Trevor. I begged him. I
Speaker 1: have to beg you know, they showed me respect when
Speaker 1: I come and he shows and say, yeah, you're you're
Speaker 1: requested for him to be in the Molle you know, No,
Speaker 1: it was you know, I had to beg him as
Speaker 1: such such a versatile actor and the actor that doesn't
Speaker 1: need to come and shoot my small little indie movie
Speaker 1: for two dollars and fifty cents, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: So it was it was me just asking him to collaborate,
Speaker 1: to come in and do a few weeks work, and
Speaker 1: he just showed up on set. He was he was
Speaker 1: down to do it. And for me, I grew up
Speaker 1: watching The Wire, I grew up watching Boardwalk Empire, so
Speaker 1: to see you know, Michael Kay Williams walk on set
Speaker 1: to be motivated and ready to shoot. I was just like, yeah,
Speaker 1: this is this is a dream that's come to Did
Speaker 1: he know what a fan you were of his? Like
Speaker 1: you you've got like a DVD box set of the
Speaker 1: Wire trempor can't mind Trevor Man. You know even when
Speaker 1: I reached that to you on text and I let
Speaker 1: you guys know, Man, you know, I'm one of those
Speaker 1: people that I have so many people, especially black individuals
Speaker 1: for me who are inspiring to look up to. Um.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I'm gonna let you know why You're still
Speaker 1: hear that, Yo, your inspirational and I have to tell you,
Speaker 1: I have to tell him straight up and show show
Speaker 1: him that love. And I'm glad I've got those moments
Speaker 1: with him and it's beautiful. And that really is beautiful.
Speaker 1: I like that. I've always said, like anyone who is
Speaker 1: Nigerian has the ability to inspire the best in you
Speaker 1: as a human being. That's what you bring out. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: you just got that thing to say, criminals. I mean
Speaker 1: you have motivistion good oh man speaking off by the way,
Speaker 1: speaking of Yo, Like, we were so excited as soon
Speaker 1: as I saw you in a movie with Viola Davis
Speaker 1: in Biddle from South Africa. I was just like, when
Speaker 1: when does the movie coming down? Saw me in a movie? Yes,
Speaker 1: and so yeah, that movie comes out September six. The
Speaker 1: Woman King is with Viola Davis Man. Yeah, look it
Speaker 1: looks it looks crazy. I was actually at the AMC
Speaker 1: at the Grove the other day and that both trailers
Speaker 1: came up. Breaking trailer came up before Brad Pitt's Bullet
Speaker 1: Train and and and also the Woman King and the
Speaker 1: Woman King trailer got around of applause from from the audience.
Speaker 1: I was tempted to say, but I left that there
Speaker 1: for the audience to just say, enjoyed this story that
Speaker 1: I think it's just going to be so so epic
Speaker 1: for everybody. Talk for you doing the story as well
Speaker 1: as you know. You know, I fell in love with
Speaker 1: you like most people did with Attack the Block, you know.
Speaker 1: I was just like, there's one of the most amazing movies.
Speaker 1: There's a sequel, and I hope it's true. But I've
Speaker 1: always loved how you can seamlessly moved between accents, how
Speaker 1: you embody a character, how you change who you are.
Speaker 1: But this, if I'm if I'm correct, is the first
Speaker 1: film where you get to be like your family. You
Speaker 1: get you know what I mean, you get to embody
Speaker 1: like your your your mother tongue, you get. You know.
Speaker 1: I use my dad's voice for the for the king role,
Speaker 1: and it's yeah, yeah, yeah, you know. I even wanted
Speaker 1: to grow a bit of a belly, so you know,
Speaker 1: to emphasize that. But it was, it was. It was
Speaker 1: such a pop part role as as an African man
Speaker 1: playing a king, but also playing a king who who
Speaker 1: loves these people, who loves his women and supports them
Speaker 1: and bands protected by these women. What's for me great?
Speaker 1: I mean normally we get into movies and you know,
Speaker 1: male lead wanted to be the number one movie start
Speaker 1: to do all the action that's overrated. I liked the
Speaker 1: women doing everything. I said, I don't get it, don't
Speaker 1: get it. Um So that that was fun. I can't
Speaker 1: I can't wait for you guys to see that movie.
Speaker 1: It's amazing. Before I let you go, I would love
Speaker 1: to talk about the break that you took. You know,
Speaker 1: John Boyegan, like you launched onto the scene you came on.
Speaker 1: Everyone was loving you as an actor as as as
Speaker 1: a I mean as a guest on shows. You just
Speaker 1: have this magnetism. And then I distinctly remember you saying
Speaker 1: I'm going to take a moment. How do you maintain
Speaker 1: the courage to say no, John? First? And then I'll
Speaker 1: get back into my career. I just got to a
Speaker 1: point where I was like, life needs a sense of balance, um,
Speaker 1: and sometimes you you go towards something and you achieve it,
Speaker 1: but there's no fulfillment because you've forgotten about the most
Speaker 1: important which is the most important thing, which is the self.
Speaker 1: And in thinking about that, I was just like, yeah,
Speaker 1: I need to sort me out first, so when I
Speaker 1: get to a certain stage and when bigger opportunities come
Speaker 1: that I'm genuinely ready for it and not intimidated by
Speaker 1: And honestly, I twiddled my toes and my little furry socks,
Speaker 1: went on holiday, I had some good times, and then
Speaker 1: I relaxed and got got my stuff sorted, got in
Speaker 1: the gym, got reading, got into a routine, and I
Speaker 1: think a lot of us need to do that right
Speaker 1: just to get back into healthy. Yeah, man, yeah, break
Speaker 1: right now. Listen, gentlemen, make sure you watch movies The
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Speaker 1: episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy
Speaker 1: Central podcast