It’s been years since John Boyega first heard the concept of a movie like The Woman King, which hit theaters this past weekend.

“Loads of individuals,” he says, were chasing the concept of creating a movie in regards to the all-female military regime of the Dahomey Kingdom referred to as the Agojie, but only he received notes from Gina Prince-Bythewood and Viola Davis requesting him to be a component of their movie. As for his decision to just accept their offer, Boyega says, “I desired to bear witness. I desired to see women doing their thing on a project like this.”

Boyega has made headlines in recent days, sparking controversy where there’s none, as he expressed his preference for under dating Black women in a recent interview with GQ. The actor, who was born in

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Peckham, London, called the reactions “Interesting” on Twitter. “At all times thought certain reactions to preference would only occur for those who belittle other people while expressing what you want,” he wrote. “This may mean your preference is predicated on negativity. Yet all I even have expressed is my love for cultural familiarity and the positivity I feel. Interesting.”

Interesting is indeed an accurate description while you think about the high esteem with which Boyega holds all Black women, not only those whom he may take interest in romantically. In an industry where many have caught flack for pandering to Black women, his understanding of the space he occupies in relation to the work of Black women is a welcome one.

Acknowledging that his preparation for The Woman King was “nothing compared” to that of his solid mates Sheila Atim, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Adrienne Warren, and Davis, who trained for hours every day and adhered to strict diets to get in warrior shape, Boyega says he realized a crucial real-life implication for his or her work while on set. “All this wanting to fight and take the world comes with responsibility. I used to be like, you recognize what? I now understand the opposite end, when you could have to take a seat back and allow them to handle it. Just allow them to handle it. It’s type of all right.”

In taking that position, Boyega has each a deep respect for the battles Black women decide to fight and gratitude for the rewards he reaps in consequence of those efforts.

“When our Black women are winning it opens doors for me as well, ” he says. “It’s not only specific to women. It opens doors for me as well. Especially brown skin, darker women who’ve their very own specific unique struggles, unfortunately. That, for me, was nice to witness. I had my sister who was working with me as an assistant on the movie as well. On daily basis, to see her react to the scenes that she saw, to see her interacting with Viola, to see that synergy happening, I needed to be here simply to even witness it. I’m pleased with everybody.”

The pride goes each ways as Boyega finds himself in three major projects this yr. On August 26, Breaking, which won the Special Jury Award when it premiered at Sundance under the title 892, made its theater debut. In it, Boyega stars as Lance Corporal Brian Brown-Easley, a Marine veteran who robs a bank when he falls on hard times financially.

“Getting into Brian’s shoes really opened up an entire world of positive things for me,” Boyega says of playing the real-life vet. “It was special and vital. I believe anytime an actor gets a task that gives you a probability to point out your versatility — that’s a difficult role for me as a British actor who has an American accent and has to do some work that is predicated on a critical skillset– it’s fun and interesting. Anything that seems like it pushes me as an actor after which also makes me learn things as an individual is opportunity.”

That’s all Boyega has ever really wanted, though he jokes about his motivation for becoming an actor, telling a story of how he was sitting in a lecture in college and heard a loud explosion which turned out to be a component of a filming of Pirates of the Caribbean. On the time he was studying film studies and media writing and was on the fence about pursuing a profession as an actor.

“Seeing Johnny Depp on set at uni, I felt just like the sign got here to me,” he recalls. “So I just didn’t return. I used to be like, ‘Nah. I would like to be wealthy.’”

With prior roles within the Star Wars sequel trilogy and an upcoming Netflix project, They Cloned Tyrone, with Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris, you can actually deduce that he’s achieved that goal. But fortune — nor fame for that matter — were ever Boyega’s true motives.

“Like anything, any job you go for, you desire to must give you the chance to utilize your funds, and to give you the chance to be rewarded in a great way for what you do. But I at all times wanted it to be earnest,” he explains. “I didn’t want people to feel like I didn’t need to be wealthy. I at all times wanted it to be like, there’s a natural talent there that’s price a great amount so I can deal with me and mine, after which hopefully other people.

“After which for me, it was also the art,” he adds. “I’ve been involved within the art for a very long time. The art has played a crucial part in my life, by way of freedom in an area where I didn’t at all times necessarily have it, especially growing up where I grew up. In that scenario, your art is your past love in that sense, the thing that gave you a way of identity as well. That’s why I used to be similar to, I might reasonably pursue it seriously, and I’ll also reasonably come to where the chance is, obviously if that country does allow. “

American audiences have actually welcomed Boyega’s talents, and Hollywood continues to as well, which is an immense feat for an actor who has refused to be silent in relation to problems with social justice and the Black community. While speaking out “Definitely has its effect,” Boyega says. It’s also allowed him to see where he truly matches in on this industry.

“What I decide to concentrate on, especially in my considering, in my maturing up in relation to these situations, is the great in it. The great in it’s that there actually is a filter. It’s like a God-given filter and it shows you who’s for you.

“I’ve worked with Juel Taylor, Jamie Foxx, with Viola Davis. We had the chance to work with Michael K. Williams and Nicole Beharie. The producers and directors behind these projects are individuals who I’ve now found and gone, ‘Okay cool, that’s who I’m working with.’ Sometimes it’s true, you’ve set to work with people where you’re appreciated. You’ve set to work where you’re appreciated so that you just don’t find yourself being confused or misconstrued to be something else, to be something you’re not. It’s vital to your identity and as you undergo any industry, really.”