When John Boyega gave an impassioned speech at a Black Lives Matter rally in June 2020, he worried it would ruin his career in movies.
"Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important. We have always meant something," he said.
"I don't know if I'm going to have a career after this, but f*** that."
It was a rally to protest against George Floyd's murder at the hands of police that sparked worldwide protests against police brutality.
Boyega, the star of Star Wars and Woman King, had not planned on speaking — it just happened in the moment — but it sparked global headlines.
"It was just so lovely to see that individuals watched it and they kind of get to know more of what you're about," he told ABC News.
"So that's definitely had huge, huge impacts."
But speaking out didn't end his career. In fact, it led to Boyega working with like-minded actors such as the late Michael K Williams, who he stars with in the upcoming bank robbery drama Breaking.
"What's crazy is that Michael had seen the speech before coming on [to Breaking] and he really respected the words that came," Boyega said.
The actors worked closely together on set, and Boyega said Williams, who had a long acting career in critically acclaimed shows such as The Wire and Boardwalk Empire, was "very influential" to him.
Breaking will be Michael K Williams's last film. He died in 2021 from a drug overdose.
'Wow, this picture is going to be important'
Breaking is based on the true story of Brian Brown-Easley, a United States Marine Corps veteran who took several people hostage at a Wells Fargo bank branch in 2017.
Brown-Easley, played by Boyega, was seeking a payment he was owed from the US Department of Veteran Affairs. He struggled with mental health problems and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
To prepare for the role, Boyega said he extensively researched PTSD, studied documentation of the case, and spoke to people in Brown-Easley's life, including his ex-wife.
"It's the type of conversations you have when you just need to try to get to know somebody by imagining the person out there," Boyega said.
"So you know, what do they like and dislike, tone of voice, the interests, life prospects, where they're at a certain stage, the struggles or obstacles."
Boyega said while he was shopping with his mother in Los Angeles, an army veteran approached him after seeing the film's trailer.
"He said that my character feels like him — what he's been through and what he's going through now and symptoms of that," Boyega said.
"That, for me, just means that wow, this picture is going to be important.
"That's going to open them up into a new perspective to it, as well as showing them a mirror of what they've suffered themselves."
Breaking was produced by Boyega's production company, which he started with the aim of telling diverse and untold stories.
Boyega role in Star Wars 'done now'
Boyega starred in British comedy-horror Attack the Block before shooting to mainstream stardom playing a stormtrooper with a conscience in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Asked if he'd ever go back to Star Wars, he said the contract was over.
"That's done now. So it was [episodes] seven, eight, and nine," Boyega said.
"I was a fan before I was in it, so I kind of ascend to the glory of maybe I can call myself a super fan because I've been in it.
"So now I just watch the Mandalorian, and Obi Wan and the rest of the stuff they're doing, which has been really, really fun actually."
Breaking is available to watch or own from April 5.
