For the role of stormtrooper Finn in Star Wars, actor John Boyega spent almost all his money on a taxi to hear the same "you're in the film"

John Boyega's journey to play Finn, the former stormtrooper turned rebel in the iconic Star Wars franchise, was one of determination - and, as it turned out, almost completely emptied his wallet.

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The British actor who eventually got the role recently recalled how it happened during a panel at the Chicago Comic Entertainment Expo.

"I had been auditioning for so long that I felt like he had taken away my dignity a little bit," Boyega told the audience, adding that he would "never forget the day" when director J.J. Abrams told him the good news.

"I decided to pretend to be very busy, you know, when you just pretend to have a lot to do. "I have a lot to do, JJ..." And he asks: "Where are you?" And I said: "I'm at an art exhibition in Greenwich, mate. I'm really, really busy. Where are you?" He said: "Well, I'm in Mayfair, in a restaurant. I need to talk to you right now. And we're going to talk about something important." And I said: "Okay, okay, I'll be right there".

"At the time, I had £45 in my account. It took me £33 and 83 pence to get to JJ. Do the maths yourself," John told the audience.

Luckily, Boyega made it to the restaurant to meet Abrams, and the conversation was to change his life forever. "I was nervous with every step," he recalled. "I thought: "Okay, cool. You know, JJ is a phenomenal, kind person, and if he told me I didn't get the part, he would have fed me anyway," the actor added.

"I sat down and JJ just said: "Thank you so much for coming back. I know we've worn you out a bit with all these auditions." At that point, I decided to try to get another audition and say, 'JJ, please. Listen, I can audition again. I can play a Brit, a Scot, a Nigerian, anyone." And he said: "You're in Star Wars," the actor continued, adding that "it all seemed very unreal."

The icing on the cake was when writer and director Lawrence Kasdan also came to the meeting to tell him that The Force Awakens would change his career. "This is Hollywood shit. You know what I mean?" said Boyega in Chicago.

Kezdan was not wrong - although John Boyega has been acting professionally for almost a decade, it was the 2015 film that made him an instant star, and he went on to star in two Star Wars sequels.

Source: People