Exclusive: John Boyega On Working In ‘Red, White and Blue’ From Steve McQueen’s Small Axe Anthology Series
Now playing on Amazon Prime Video is Red, White and Blue, the third film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series. Small Axe premiered with Mangrove starring Letitia Wright and Shaun Parkes on November 20, followed by Lovers Rock on 11/27 starring Micheal Ward & Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Red, White and Blue on 12/4 starring John Boyega, Alex Wheatle on 12/11 with newcomer Sheyi Cole, and the final film Education on 12/18 featuring Kenyah Sandy.
Small Axe is an anthology series comprised of five original films set from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s that tell personal stories from London's West Indian community, whose lives have been shaped by their own force of will despite rampant racism and discrimination. The title is derived from the African proverb, “If you are the big tree, we are the small axe.”
Red, White and Blue tells the true story of Leroy Logan, a young forensic scientist with a yearning to do more than his solitary laboratory work. When he sees his father assaulted by two policemen, he finds himself driven to revisiting a childhood ambition to become a police officer; an ambition borne from the naïve hope of wanting to change racist attitudes from within. First, Leroy has to face the consequences of his father’s disapproval, never mind the blatant racism he finds in his new role as a despised yet exemplary Constable in the Metropolitan Police Force.
John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Steve Toussaint (Prince of Persia) star with talented newcomers Tyrone Huntley, Nathan Vidal and Jaden Oshenye. Red, White and Blue was co-written by Courttia Newland and Steve McQueen.
For Boyega, who’s best known for his roles as Moses in the sci-fi film Attack The Block and as Finn in the latest the Star Wars sequel trilogy films The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker, this is his first gig for television since his four episode arc in the 24 limited event television series 24: Live Another Day back in 2014. He also voiced several characters in different shows in between. BlackFilmandTV.com’s Wilson Morales recently caught up with Boyega as he spoke working with McQueen in Red, White and Blue.