London-born actor John Boyega has worked with some big Hollywood names by now, most recently Viola Davis in The Woman King. But his baptism to big-time Hollywood came in 2015 with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, when he found himself face-to-face with the the famously taciturn Harrison Ford.
Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel, Boyega said that it took a while for Ford to warm up to him; “It took two weeks. I think I had answered him back and it was kinda like a trial by fire, when he finally said; “you’re one of the good ones.” And then I asked him to go to dinner, because he had been talking about eating chicken breast and salad because he was training for Star Wars.”
Boyega showed Ford some of the local sights in London; “I said “let me take you to a local spot and let’s just go for dinner after set.” He agreed and his security guard definitely turned pale, because you’re taking the great Harrison Ford to an address that the security guard hasn’t been given.”
Boyega continues; “We had to sneak out – we had to meet in the lobby, get in the car, have dinner and I had to get him back home on time. He ate all local Nigerian food. He hadn’t tried it before, so we had to get a selection of everything. Obviously I had to call the restaurant in advance, tell them Indiana Jones is rocking up, so have the table prepared.”
“We went in and had a great, amazing meal. And let me tell you, the way this guy slept it off in the car, after eating all that food was historical. He was gone, as soon as we got in the car.”
It sounds like Boyega gave Ford a memorable night out. Check out our guides to the best Star Wars characters and find out more about the Star Wars cast.