Via Standard.co.uk:

John Boyega has revealed that he cried when he first read the script for the upcoming Star Wars movie.

The Peckham actor is set to become a household name after landing one of the leading roles in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, due for release in December.

He endured a gruelling audition process before being cast in the role of Finn, a Jedi in training.

Boyega, 23, said: “When I read the script I cried, and I’m not really a big crier … I’m more like a frog-in-the-throat kind of guy, who’ll try to hold it in and make sure I don’t let it all out.”

Describing the auditioning process, overseen by director J J Abrams, he told GQ Style magazine: “I was unleashed into seven months of auditions. It was like The X Factor but without the TV show around it. It was intense.”

Boyega attended Westminster City School before training at Theatre Peckham, South Thames College and Identity School of Acting in Hackney.

His breakthrough role was in 2011’s Attack The Block, but his role as Finn is set to make him a worldwide star. Of his character, he said: “Finn is dope. He is a heightened Hollywood leading man version of myself; his story is so epic.

“It’s a story that’s never been seen before, but it also mirrors the stories of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. And he’s quirky and charismatic and funny. For me, he was the best character in the script.

“[The lightsabers] are heavy, those things, and there’s a lot of running involved.

“I was trained on a high-incline treadmill so when it came to it I could sprint around the desert in a leather jacket. They should do a Star Wars weight-loss programme.”