John Boyega Says He Wouldn't Be a Part of Star Wars Without Tom Cruise

John Boyega's journey to a galaxy far, far away might not have happened without a little help from one of Hollywood’s biggest action stars, as it turns out. Speaking at his Popverse-hosted spotlight panel at Emerald City Comic Con 2025, the Star Warsactor revealed that Tom Cruise played a key role in helping him land his breakout role as Finn in The Force Awakensback in 2015. Boyega at that point was a little-known actor who had really only appeared in one major project: Attack the Block. But as it turns out, that would end up being the role that shot him to stardom after Cruise became a fan of the movie.