Star Wars actor John Boyega is set to share a previously unheard personal testimony in a profoundly moving documentary about the murder of his childhood friend, Damilola Taylor. The film, provisionally titled Damilola Taylor: The Last 24 Hours, will delve into the tragic final moments before the ten-year-old boy was fatally stabbed and left to bleed out in Peckham, south-east London, in the year 2000.
A Life-Changing Tragedy
John Boyega, who was just eight years old at the time, and his sister Grace were among the very last people to see Damilola Taylor alive. In a poignant interview with BBC Radio 4's Last Word podcast in 2024, Boyega described the loss as "life-changing" and revealed how it fundamentally altered his perspective on mortality and ambition.
"From the hours we left him in Peckham to the hours when I went home, and then the police was at our door and there was a whole investigation that we were involved in, it was definitely life changing for me," Boyega told the podcast's host, John Taylor. "Even though I was young, it was a shock to understand how mortality worked. To think that somebody as young as me could pass away in such a horrific way was hard for me to understand or comprehend."
The Profound Impact of a Poem
Boyega explained that a reading of a poem Damilola had written, which was shared at his funeral, revealed how his friend had "dreamed to be more." This moment proved to be a pivotal inspiration for the young Boyega.
"It was during the time of the funeral his dad had read the poem that Damilola had written down for himself," Boyega recalled. "And that was a poem that spoke about what Damilola wanted to achieve, how far he wanted his dreams to spread, who he wanted to impact and touch. And I found that quite profound."
He contrasted his own childhood concerns with Damilola's aspirations: "I'm here, wondering when the ice cream van is going to pull up and why he's an hour late from Monday. And you're thinking about all this stuff that you're going to do and how you're going to use your skillset to impact the world." This reflection directly influenced Boyega's own ambitions: "After reading that poem, I was just like, yeah, I have no excuse. I want to be a movie star. And not just because I want to be one but because someone else like Damilola Taylor, in my environment too, dreamed to be more."
Family Trauma and Community Loss
The documentary will also explore the extensive impact of Damilola's death on his friends and family. Boyega highlighted the particular trauma experienced by his sister Grace, who was very close to Damilola, and the protective role his father had to assume.
"I definitely think Damilola's tragic killing has definitely shaped me through the years and just affected my perspective on certain things and it definitely affected the community too," Boyega stated. "My sister, in particular, Grace, who was very, very close with Damilola, went through a lot, and my dad had to front that and try to protect her in that journey. It was definitely a lot for everybody to take."
A Tribute to Richard Taylor
Boyega's decision to speak publicly about this deeply personal tragedy was motivated by the death of Damilola's father, Richard Taylor, on March 23, 2024. Richard Taylor, a civil servant from Nigeria who was 75, had spent two decades campaigning to prevent youth crime following his son's murder.
Boyega described him as "a man that was for the people and for the community" who "turned his tragic loss into something triumphant." Boyega, who had never spoken about the death before, explained his motivation: "I haven't spoken about it and on purpose too. I'm quite private in general, but with this specifically... it's that celebrity thing of not wanting to get in front of very real life news. But on Richard Taylor's passing, I just was so kind of motivated to speak up."
Documentary's Broader Examination
Directed by filmmaker Alex Thomas, the documentary will reconstruct Damilola's final day, including the social pressures impacting young people in his community. Furthermore, the film will provide a critical examination of the harrowing rise in knife-related crimes in the quarter-century since the murder.
Alex Thomas emphasised the unique perspective of the documentary: "Damilola's story has never been told through the experience of the young people who were living it at the time. This film shows what it meant to grow up in an environment shaped by fear, bullying and the need to protect yourself — and how those pressures influenced the choices people made."
Thomas added a sobering reflection on its contemporary relevance: "Twenty-five years on, those experiences still stay with them, and many of those pressures still exist for young people today." The documentary promises to be a powerful testament to a life lost too soon and its enduring legacy on those left behind.
