Nigerian Born Star Wars Actor, John Boyega Took Harrison Ford To A Nigerian Restaurant In Peckham To Eat Egusi Soup & Pounded Yam

Star Wars' John Boyega celebrated landing the role of Finn in The Force Awakens by taking Harrison Ford to dinner in Peckham.

Situated beneath a block of flats, Nigerian restaurant 805 on London's Old Kent Road was the unlikely venue for the meal in September 2014.

In a video from Bafta's 2015 Britannia Awards tribute to Harrison Ford, Peckham-born Boyega explained what happened.



"I took him to a Nigerian restaurant in south east London, he walked up into that place like he was Nigerian," the 23-year-old said.


"He does walk too slow into restaurants. Harrison, you just have to walk in and go straight to the table, that's the thing.


"You don't have to (at this point, Boyega impersonates the 73-year-old) 'look around and see who's here, and do they notice I'm Harrison Ford?' "
In the clip, the Londoner playfully teased his multi award-winning co-star.


"You don't always have to take the cheque Harrison. We know you're rich, we know you've got nine planes, but let me pay for it sometimes!"
"Literally, we just had Nigerian food," he continued.

"People always said 'when you meet Harrison, he's casual, he's laid back'. And he's all those things, he is, but at the same time, he knows who he is.

"He knows that he's Indiana Jones, he knows that he's Han Solo, so that's why when we walked into an environment where people didn't expect him there he walks in slow motion. So they can take it in."

Manager Emmanuel James recalled how stunned staff were when they recognised their famous diner.
"Someone came out the back to see me and was like 'Harrison Ford's here' and I didn't believe it," he told The Guardian.

"Staff were asking each other, are we absolutely sure that's him?"' 

"You just would never expect it so it took a few minutes to work out if it was really him. Seeing someone out of context, it's hard for it to sink in, you know."

Chicago-born Ford and Boyega, whose parents are Nigerian, ordered fruit cocktails, James said.

The veteran star avoided delicacies such as nkwobi (diced cow foot) and instead chose egusi soup and pounded yam.

Actor Harrison Ford greets fans as he arrives at the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

Boyega ordered jollof rice with plantain.

"No one took any pictures," James said. "He (Boyega) asked the waiter if he could be left alone so we didn't bother him."

The Londoner paid the bill and left a tip.