Who Is John Boyega? Meet the New 'Star Wars: Episode VII' Actor (PHOTO)

It's time to get up close and person with our future favorite Jedi, John Boyega, the new face of "Star Wars: Episode VII."



Boyega is most famous for his role as Moses in "Attack the Block," which was also his first feature film. Moses is one of the teens who live on a South London council estate that's attacked by aliens. The first time we meet Moses and his pals, they're attempting to rob a young nurse named Samantha (Jodie Whittaker), but later they all rally and work together to fight the weirdo critters trying to take over their block.



Moses is the quiet leader of this criminally inclined crew of teens, but he eventually becomes the hero of our story. You might need subtitles for this awesome indie sci-fi -- the British slang comes fast and furious -- but it's good fun. "Attack the Block" is Joe Cornish's first feature-length film. Its funky creature effects, humor, and cool soundtrack won over festival audiences around the world. Edgar Wright is one of its many exec producers. Nick Frost, who appears in Wright's "Cornetto Trilogy," plays a greasy drug dealer named Ron.



Boyega's performance as Moses is the role that snagged the attention of folks in Hollywood. It's only taken about three years for Boyega to go from buzzed-about Brit to a leading man in an epic franchise. He's also in the film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's book "Half of a Yellow Sun," alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, and Anika Noni Rose. Boyega was set to star in "Da Brick," a drama that would have been directed by Spike Lee and written by John Ridley, with Lee, Ridley, Mike Tyson, and Doug Ellin on board as producers, but HBO passed on the project. Meanwhile, he's is attached to play Olympic athlete Jesse Owens in an upcoming biopic that's supposed to start shooting in May.



Initially, Boyega wasn't too psyched on the idea of "Attack the Block." He told Interview, "I got the call from agent about the film, which was an alien attack in London... I thought that was incredible crap." Then he read the script... and the rest is history.





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