Gramps Han, Rainbow Lightsabers & more with John Boyega #StarWarsEvent

photo credit: MomStart.com

Since there is no reason for you miss ANY of the exclusive interview we had with the hilarious John Boyega at #StarWarsEvent, I had to create a second post. John’s answers were always filled with laughter and insight, which Star Wars fans really appreciate. Did you miss the first part of the interview? Check it out here: Exclusive Interview with John Boyega.

If you had a lightsaber in real life, what color would it be?

John: You know what? My lightsaber would be rainbow colors, so they’d know I was there. [AUDIENCE LAUGHS]. I’d be like, Whooo! It’s about to go to go down! [LAUGHS]. I’m about peace; I’m not trying to get into fights with no one.

What was the most inspiring thing about your character?

John: I think that what’s so inspiring about Finn is how complex he is. He’s a Storm Trooper who has never really experienced individuality. We always know Storm Troopers to just be one unit, and we’ve never, ever had a Storm Trooper take off his helmet for us to see who he really is. All you’ve ever had is the lead characters in disguise. I find that iconic to me as a fan, to be able to actually talk to one of those.

Because I always felt sorry for those Storm Troopers, man. It’s like they send them out just to be shot, and I’ve always wanted to say, man, you know what? There must be a different career for you, mate. Finn is the first Storm Trooper to actually go, you know what? I need a new job. So it’s really cool to experience a Storm Trooper in that sense.

photo credit: MomStart.com

Can you say or tell us anything about the relationship between Finn and Poe?

John: When Finn escapes the First Order, he crosses paths with various different characters, and Poe is one of them. They definitely have a brother relationship. Finn finds a friend in Poe, and Poe represents what Finn wants to be. Poe is definite in his position of who he fights for; what side he’s on, and Finn is more in limbo.

Finn is kinda like, okay, I don’t wanna fight with the Storm Troopers; I don’t wanna fight the resistance; I kinda wanna get away. Poe gives him a lot of clarity on who he is as a person.

What makes the Star Wars movies and story so timeless, in your opinion?

JB : In my opinion, I just think it’s the continuous dialog between fans. Fans have the ability to make a whole press conference on probably two minutes worth of footage, like, who shot first? That was a few seconds. There’s a whole debate about that, and that keeps fans engaged even when the movies aren’t there. There’s only been six films, but if you look at the fandom, it reflects as if there’s been twenty. I think it’s because there are different ways in which you can experience Star Wars.

You don’t necessarily have to watch the films. You can just have the merchandise, and just know it from there. There’s several ways that you can be a Star Wars fan, and I think that’s different than any other property.

You said you’re dad’s never seen the film, but when did you see the film for the first time?

John: I saw the film a few years after the Phantom Menace came out. I was born in ’92, so I was exposed to the prequels first. As a kid, I didn’t really care about story and all that kind of stuff. I just saw that green guy do an acrobatic, so I was like hell yeah, turn it on, man. Turn it on. Turn it up. I enjoyed watching it as a kid, and then when I was older, I was more aware that I wanted to be an actor, and I liked story. I watched the originals and that just finished me . You know, apart from death and taxes, the part that I’m gonna be Star Wars fan for life is pretty much guaranteed.

photo credit: MomStart.com

Can you describe Finn in three words?

John: Conflicted; charismatic; I’ll do it as a joint word- temporary bravery [LAUGHS].

You said you were a Hans Solo fan, so what was it like working with Harrison Ford?

John: It’s so funny. Me and Harrison are obviously best friends. He would tell you that. We go way back. It’s ridiculous. [AUDIENCE LAUGHS] We formed a really interesting relationship that really has influenced the Finn and the Han relationship. The first thing I said to Harrison when I met him- I walked up to him and he’s like, ‘hey, I’m Harrison Ford’ and I was like, you look good, man! [AUDIENCE LAUGHS] He was like, well, what did you expect? [AUDIENCE LAUGHS]

From then, that influenced the way in which Finn sees Han. It’s like, oh man, yeah, Gramps is cool. And Han is kind of like, dude, I’m Hans Solo; have respect. And there’s no respect whatsoever. But I think that Han sees a young Han in Finn. So they form this bond, and it’s gonna be so hilarious when you see their duo, the lack of respect for each other, but the undertone love that they have; it’s pretty cool.

Where did the ability to channel voices come from? I heard you doing Pinocchio from Shrek.

John: My dad. My dad is a Pentecostal minister. Growing up in church was very entertaining with my dad because, if you went to a normal church, it would be quite stoic and serious. But when you went to my dad’s church, it was hilarious and engaging, because a normal preacher would handle Noah’s Ark stories from the point of view of Noah. My dad would go to the animals.

He would tell a story of Mrs. Tiger and Mr. Tiger, and how they had conflict, and how they had to have faith and go together and get on Noah’s Ark, and he would do the voices. And the first movie I saw in a theater was A Bug’s Life, so I’ve always been exposed to larger than life movies. And so from then, I’ve always done voices.