John Boyega Definitely Deserves An Oscar Nomination For ‘Detroit’

Before its release, Katheryn Bigelow’s period crime drama, Detroit, had a lot of Oscar buzz, and for good reason: the director’s last two movies, The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, landed a total of 14 nominations and 7 wins between them.

Following weak box office returns and some backlash about this important piece of black history being told by two Caucasians, all the hype surrounding the movie and its performers – especially standout, John Boyega – eventually died down.

Thankfully, it seems the production company behind the film hasn’t given up hope. Two days ago, they sent out screeners to Oscar voters and plan to re-release the film in select theatres tomorrow, December 1 – with the hope of getting more eyes on it.

Backlash and weak box office aside, Detroit was met with glowing reviews from critics upon its release, with most of them praising John Boyega’s conflicted performance. He is being pushed in the ‘Best Supporting Actor’ category, and we think he totally deserves a nomination.

The film, which is based on a true story about a horrific and deadly night of police brutality, is set against the backdrop of the 1967 Detroit riots. Boyega plays a security guard who becomes an unwilling witness and accomplice to the brutality, giving the actor a chance to give a career-best performance.

Speaking with Indiewire about the role and the movie, Boyega said:

“This particular movie has been the biggest movie of my career so far. The biggest role of my career so far has been in ‘Detroit’.

I really felt a shift and transition with this project, just in terms of the kind of roles now that I feel I’m ready for, through this. 

Craft is number one to me, the constant elevation of craft and perfection of craft is something that has been on my mind”

Here’s hoping the re-release of the movie and the screeners actually remind Oscar voters of John Boyega’s performance, which is still one of the best of the year. Fingers crossed he isn’t snubbed like other British-Nigerian, David Oyelowo, was for Selma.