Via Theverge.com:

I’m talking to John Boyega, the 23-year-old star of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in a dimly lit conference room somewhere in Los Angeles. It’s part of a massive global media junket that’s so secretive, journalists are prohibited from geotagging photos they post to Instagram. There’s less than two weeks before J.J. Abrams’ film hits theaters, and the cast have to talk up the movie — which they themselves have only recently seen — nearly every day. But that’s not slowing Boyega down.

“I’m having so much fun, because you know what? They cast a Star Wars fan in a Star Wars movie,” he tells me. “Biiiiiig mistake!” The London-born actor first jumped on Hollywood’s radar for his performance as a gang leader in the sci-fi comedy Attack the Block — that’s where Abrams first saw him — but over the past year he’s become the living embodiment of Star Wars fandom. Walking the Star Wars Celebration show floor in costume; posting trailer reaction videos on YouTube; geeking out over the fact that he’s been turned into multiple toys. If the original trio of Ford, Fisher, and Hamill had a reluctant relationship with their space opera fame, Boyega is running into his full tilt. But as we talk about stormtroopers, lightsabers, and the newfound diversity of the Star Wars universe, it’s clear that enthusiasm doesn’t keep him from taking the work itself extremely seriously.

Bryan Bishop: Anytime somebody gets cast in a big franchise film like this there’s a lot of talk about how their life is going to change forever. It seems like that’s already happened for you and Daisy, but you both still seem pretty grounded. How you are handling the influx of attention?

John Boyega: I think it’s probably because despite the short amount of time that I’ve had so far in my career, I have had a career, and have worked. So for me, I’m not going into something that is raw and fresh. Despite that it’s Star Wars and how huge it is, it’s still work to me, and that element of things grounds you, especially from nerding out a few times. Although, some days I can’t control myself. But apart from that, a good set of people behind you. Good family and friends. I’m lucky that I’ve disciplined myself in choosing who I allow into my heart [pounds fist on chest] so it’s benefited me in the long run. Now I’m ready for the ride.

I’m sure you’ve talked with the original cast about what they went through, but you guys are dealing with this kind of exposure in an age of social media and instant accessibility. It’s a very different challenge than what they faced.

Yeah, it’s nothing like it. Social media; it’s just different. For me, my main approach with this movie is that fans haven’t been able to have an insight into Star Wars the way they’d like to, and so the way in which I’ve used social media — and especially in terms of my Snapchat and Instagram — I’m basically trying to just remove the veil on the process, so fans can have more of an appreciation for the work that goes into the film. Because all they do is see the trailers, and then see the movie. So it’s good for fans to kind of go on this journey with me and see how things work.

Click below to read the full article.