John Boyega has received mass support from creators in the TV and film industry, following his emotional speech at a Black Lives Matter protest in London.
The actor’s tearful address in Hyde Park referenced police involvement in the deaths of George Floyd, Sandra Bland and Trayvon Martin in the US and of Stephen Lawrence in the UK.
“I need you to understand how painful this s*** is,” he said. “I need you to understand how painful it is to be reminded every day that your race means nothing.”
At one point, Boyega said: “I’m speaking to you from my heart. Look, I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this, but f*** that.”
Filmmakers began tweeting their support for Boyega after BlacKkKlansman producer Matthew A Cherry shared a post stating: “I would work with John Boyega and I urge other Non-Black creators to affirm that they have his back as well.”
Jordan Peele, Black Mirror’s Charlie Brooker, His Dark Materials’ Jack Thorne, Catastrophe’s Rob Delaney, Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda, Baby Driver’s Edgar Wright, Booksmart’s Olivia Wilde, Charlie’s Angels’ Elizabeth Banks and Bridesmaids’ Paul Feig are all among the makers of TV and film who have said they would be honoured to work with Boyega.
“I would crawl through a barrel of broken glass to have John Boyega even so much as *glance* at one of my scripts,” tweeted Brooker.
“Any project. Any role he wants,” added IT producer Seth Grahame-Smith.
“Have before and would again, in a heartbeat. So proud of John today,” said Wright, who worked with the actor on Attack the Block and Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi.
Protests against police brutality and systemic racism have been raging around the world since the death of Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis last week after a white police officer knelt on his neck.
The public discourse around race has led to a huge surge in sales of books about prejudice, which are selling out in the UK.
