Leroy Logan on John Boyega’s Globes win: It really is life-changing

Updated

Anti-racism campaigner Leroy Logan has described John Boyega’s win at the Golden Globes as “beyond my wildest dreams”.

Star Wars actor Boyega won the best supporting actor in a television series award for his role in Small Axe, the anthology series directed by Sir Steve McQueen.

In Red, White And Blue, Boyega portrays Logan, who became a police officer aiming to reform the Metropolitan force from within after seeing his father assaulted by two officers.

He told the PA news agency: “It was beyond my wildest dreams and it has been like that ever since I got involved in Small Axe, as far back as 2016.”

Logan shared a video on Instagram of himself at home, reacting to the Golden Globes announcement and raising a celebratory glass.

Boyega, 28, thanked Logan during his acceptance speech for his “work and for what you have done for young people in the UK”.

Logan said of watching Boyega win the award: “This is, again, just to get my head around the fact I have an A-list star playing me, little old me, a retired cop who tried his best and (is) still doing that.

“My active service in the community, activism and advocacy work continues, so you know it’s really just given me so many different emotions of ‘Wow’, you know. It’s beyond my vocabulary to really encapsulate it.

“It’s really just saying that anything is possible and you just have to really graft and work hard and don’t let anyone detract you from what you want to do because I remember when I was joining the police and so many people saying ‘No, don’t do it’ and I finally got through.

“All of the agonies and then that story was compelling enough for a director in the name of Steve McQueen and then getting John Boyega who wanted to play me… he’s just done such an amazing job.

“And I learnt so much about myself in all of this. When you think, you know, I’m n the autumn of my life and I think I should know myself quite well, and here I am learning all these new thoughts and reflections and emotions. I just feel like a teenager again.”

Small Axe
John Boyega as police officer and anti-racism reformer Leroy Logan in Sir Steve McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe (BBC/PA)

Logan was made an MBE in 2001 for his contribution to policing, and retired in 2013 after 30 years’ service.

In September last year he published his autobiography, Closing Ranks: My Life As A Cop.

He said: “I don’t say that lightly, to be quite honest, as I said the experiences I’m having, the emotions I’m having, it is really life-changing.

“I’ve now got this sense of renaissance, re-energising of what I want to do…”

Logan has also established the social justice charity Voyage.

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