Star Wars: John Boyega's Intense Reaction To Holding A Lightsaber For The First Time

Across the board, filming Star Wars: The Force Awakens was an emotional experience for the actors. Returning stars felt that intense nostalgia being on familiar sets, while many of the newcomers are young enough that they've never lived in a world without Star Wars. John Boyega falls into the second category, and as a lifelong fan, he was super jazzed to be cast, but when he was given a lightsaber he had a truly transcendent experience.

We’ve seen Boyega’s character, an AWOL stormtrooper named Finn, wielding a blue lightsaber, presumably the one that once belonged to Luke Skywalker, and talking to Empire, he revealed the intense reaction he had when he first laid his hands on the weapon from a more civilized time. He said:

I held it in my hand and I just felt, you know, the clouds open up and the white doves come flying down. It feels very, very good. I hugged it for the whole day. I didn’t allow anyone to hold it but me.

While that sounds like it may be a bit extreme, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have the exact same response, and I’m willing to bet that there are a fair number of you out there in the same boat. Hell, I know more than a few people who would drop to the floor in fits of spontaneous ecstasy in that moment.