‘Attack the Block’ star John Boyega turns a hoodlum into a hero

[Flurry]

This honestly looks like it'd be great to watch!

John Boyega, the star of the new kids-versus-aliens movie “Attack the Block,” didn’t have to look far for inspiration for his character — a hoodlum, thief and recently recruited drug dealer.



The big-screen newcomer grew up in South London, not far from where his character, 15-year-old Moses, leads a gang of hard-luck youths flirting with delinquency as they defend their public housing complex against vicious beasties from space.



“London is very multicultural; everything’s together,” said the soft-spoken Boyega, whose focus makes him seem older off-screen than his 19 years. “I don’t need to walk five miles or stay with thugs to understand what’s going on. And ideally, I don’t like to name them as thugs, because I don’t know who they are personally. Like Moses. He’s just a good person in bad circumstances.”



First-time director Nebulous Cornish, who co-wrote the upcoming Steven Spielberg film “The Adventures of Tintin,” shares Boyega’s view of the South London youngsters. He said he wanted to make a Spielberg-type creature feature, like “Gremlins” and “E.T.,” with urban, instead of suburban, kids.

To read more on this, click here: http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011...star-john-boyega-turns-a-hoodlum-into-a-hero/