Zendaya, John Boyega and Chloe Grace Moretz cover Variety for the publication’s “Power of Young Hollywood” issue.
Zendaya and Boyega are two of the most rapidly rising black stars in Hollywood. Zendaya, a Disney child star who booked the female lead in the new Spider-Man franchise, is starring with Hugh Jackman in a P.T. Barnum biopic later this year. She’s also an activist in her own right, speaking out on numerous current issues and our political climate.
Star Wars star Boyega, coming off a buzzed about role in Katheryn Bigelow’s Detroit, has the sequel to Pacific Rim coming in February. Boyega recently sounded off on the lack of black actors in film and television, and commonly adds to the discourse surrounding black British actors.
To put it shortly, they are the future (if not, the now).
“I’m so happy I got to put her in my movie early, before she becomes the biggest actress in Hollywood,” said Jon Watts the director of Spider-Man: Homecoming. When she auditioned for Spider-Man, she didn’t even know at the time she was trying out for a role in a new Spider-Man reboot. Then, when she did, she wasn’t convinced she, as an actress of color, would net the role. “A lot of time, the thought process of an actor of color is ‘I’m going to go and give it my best shot, but they are probably not going to go with an actor of color for this. We all think it. I didn’t know they were going to switch up the characters and really cast the best people for the roles, instead of what’s most like the comic book. I think that was the coolest part for me, knowing they embraced the diversity,” she said.
Zendaya also spoke at length about her decision to leave Disney, then subsequently come back. Why? Diversity. “When I left Disney, there weren’t any families of color on the channel. I thought that was a big reason why I wanted to come back. I think I’ve successfully made a show that not only allows for representation but sees girls in a powerful and strong position,” she said.
As for Boyega, as he’s shooting up to the top of casting lists for directors, he’s also looking for more at the same time.
“I can’t wait for other people to create roles for me. If I wait for another man to get inspiration for a script and call me, I may be risking a lot,” he says.
From playing in these sci-fi/fantasy flicks, to his debut as a streetwise teen in Attack on the Block to his current run as a conflicted security guard in Detroit, he’s prepared for it all. “I believe I can give audience members different sides of me,” he says. “If you look back at the stuff I’ve done previously, no character is the same.”
In the filming of Detroit, he says all of these racial implications flooded his mind, and it called to mind what he had to deal with when he first joined the Star Wars franchise.
“When I was exposed to the world in ‘Star Wars,’ I also was exposed to the reality of ignorance that still exists around the world. When I was in ‘Star Wars’ there was a semi, kind of racial discussion that was quite negative when it first came out. I was the only person to always talk about the color of my skin. In every interview, my skin color comes up. If Daisy (Ridley) does an interview, her skin color is not going to come up. … It doesn’t matter what position you’re in — once you’re black, you’re black, and these idiots always have something to say about it.”
It’s safe to say John and Zendaya have next. View their full Variety cover stories here.
