Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s John Boyega Named British GQ’s Icon of the Year

As 2020 comes to a close (finally), we're starting to see some end of the year lists and tributes come through. One publication to give out awards is British GQ. In fact, their Men of the Year line-up (which is not actually limited to men) includes big names such as Ozzy Osbourne (Lifetime Achievement), Lashana Lynch (Hugo Boss Breakthrough Actress), Michaela Coel (Creative Icon), and more. However, their biggest honor, Icon of the Year, has gone to Star Wars sequel star, John Boyega. The actor known for playing Finn took to Instagram this week to thank British GQ for the honor.

"Thank you @britishgq for the icon of the year award and to everyone that has shown me unbelievable support. Wishing everyone the best as we live through this tuff year x love ❤️," Boyega wrote. You can check out his post, including his GQ cover photo, below:

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It's no surprise Boyega was given this award considering the hard work and activism he put into 2020. This summer, Boyega made headlines after speaking at a Black Lives Matter protest in London. During the speech, the actor said, "Look I don't know if I'm going to have a career after this but, f**k that." This caused a huge outpour of support from directors, including his former Star Wars directors Rian Johnson and JJ Abrams. Others spoke out, saying they'd like to work with the actor, too, including Us and Get Out's Jordan Peele as well as Birds of Prey's Cathy Yan. After the outcry of support, Boyega offered up his thanks on Instagram.

Boyega has also been vocal about his time involved with the Star Wars sequels, not only about his character's treatment but also the racism he personally experienced by merely being involved with the franchise. Just this week, Boyega revealed that he met with various filmmakers involved with the Star Wars movies with the hopes of offering insight into what he encountered, which included meeting with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

"So I got on a phone call with Kathleen Kennedy and she verbally showed support and we got to have a really nice, transparent, honest conversation that is beneficial to both of us," Boyega revealed to the BBC. "I think these kinds of conversations, you can go into the realm of sounding like you're just trying to save your own career, but what is great now is that it is a conversation that anyone has access to."

Boyega can currently be seen on Amazon Prime's Small Axe.