Auditioning for any movie can be daunting, but auditioning for a new “Star Wars” film, which will undoubtedly launch any actor into the spotlight, has to be extra stressful.
Actor John Boyega went through several auditions for "The Force Awakens," in theaters December 18, before landing the role of Finn, a former stormtrooper who appears to go rogue.
"For the first few auditions that I did for 'Star Wars,' I had to acquire a dramatic approach because of the content on the page,"Boyega told CNET. "But then after a while I thought to myself, 'Wait, this is ‘Star Wars.’ ‘Star Wars’ is different from any other project. ‘Star Wars’ has its own culture. It has its own energy.”
To prepare for his auditions he turned to the original cast — and the internet.
Boyega said he went to YouTube to watch Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford's audition tapes for the original movies.
"And I watched their audition, and there was this casual approach to danger and to being a hero that I drew some inspiration from," explained Boyega. "If you see Harrison in his audition and Mark, there’s this, 'The ship’s about to blow up, but, woo hoo! Switch to light speed!' I love that. No other movie does that. In another movie they’d be crying and calling their parents, but in 'Star Wars' it’s like, 'woo!'"
Here's an audition tape of 1977's "Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope" featuring Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford:
At “Star Wars: Celebration” in April, Boyega revealed after he found out he landed the role of Finn he was scared to tell his parents he got the part in case they didn’t believe him.
“I waited until that cast photo was released before I told my parents." he said back in April. “I just told him [my dad] I was filming '24'."
Here's the cast photo Boyega's talking about:
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