John Boyega lost friends after he made an emotional speech backing the Black Lives Matter campaign two years ago.
The actor, a proud and vocal activist on issues affecting Black people and communities, spoke during a 2020 protest in London's Hyde Park after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in America.
During his rallying cry, he implored listeners to remember those who had died from police brutality, urged Black men to take care of Black women and even commented, "Look, I don't know if I'm going to have a career after this, but f**k that."
Reflecting on the powerful speech in a new interview with GQ Hype, John revealed it didn't go down well with everyone he knows.
"I've had actors that I'm close to disagree with what I did that day," the 30-year-old shared. "Some people don't want to work with me. It's okay. Hollywood is not one entity.
"I want to work in this industry as me."
However, his role in the new film The Woman King came off the back of his appearance at the BLM protest.
Starring as King Ghezo in Gina Prince-Bythewood's historical drama, John happily took on a supporting role in order to help the film get made.
The Woman King tells the story of the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit who protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey, now Benin, during the 17th to 19th centuries. Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch and Sheila Atim co-star.
Of casting John in her movie, longtime fan Gina said: "After watching his speech during the reckoning of 2020 imploring others to protect Black women, I knew he was someone I had to work with. So, I went to work on his role and made sure it was special enough to get a 'yes'."
