John Boyega has revealed there was a "serious tone" on the set of ‘Detroit’ because the cast realised the importance of the story they were telling.
The 25-year-old actor stars in Kathryn Bigelow’s latest movie which is about the 1967 Detroit riots which kicked off in July of that year which erupted as a result of rage at apparent institutionalised racism following a police raid of an unlicensed, after-hours bar, then known as a ‘blind pig’.
The riots resulted in the Michigan Army National Guard being used to quell the disturbance and ended with multiple deaths, injuries and over 7,000 arrests.
Boyega insists everyone involved in the making of the movie were aware they were dealing with a very important historic event which is just as relevant now due to the strained race relations in certain parts of America now.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the British actor: "This true story is going to be seen by so many people, and the world is tainted right now, and this story is sensitive to the issues that we have. You’re basically creatively commenting on something. It puts you in a position of some form of responsibility. There’s much more of a serious tone that’s required on a set like ‘Detroit’. Even though it was set 50 years ago, it is a reflection of what’s going on now in terms of race relations and it’s strange. You watch a movie like ‘Detroit’ and expect it to be based in 2017. The lines are blurred in terms of how far we’ve come … What developed was a camaraderie I’ve never experienced before."
As well as Boyega, the film also stars Hannah Murray, Algee Smith, Will Poulter, Jack Reynor and Anthony Mackie.
Many of the characters featured in the film are based on real people, including security guard Melvin Dismukes (Boyega) and Juli Hysell (Murray) – who was injured in the riot.
John Boyega: Detroit was a serious shoot
