Star Wars: The Force Awakens star John Boyega has revealed that his friends were shocked when they realised just how much screen time he had in the blockbuster film, believing at first he would just be an extra! Boyega plays new character Finn in the movie which is his first major film role.

John BoyegaJohn Boyega plays Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Speaking on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ on Friday, Boyega said "I took them to the London premiere and after the premiere they were just like, 'Yo, John, I never knew you were in the movie for so long – I thought you were an extra!' "

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"I'm like, all this time I was leaving from Monday to Friday, what did you think I was doing, man, for two years?" The 23 year old British actor is now well on his way to becoming a household name thanks to his Star Wars role, but he’s managing to still stay humble.

Boyega told Fallon that he planned to visit screenings of the movie around New York City over the weekend. "I'm gonna go over to a few theatres in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and I'm gonna meet some people, you know, just say thank you," he said. "This is big, and I feel the love, I really, really do."

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Of course Boyega kept to his word and showed up at several theatres on Friday and Saturday. In a series of videos shared by the actor on Instagram, fans can be seen going wild as Boyega appears live in front of them. In one video the actor tells the audience the film is ‘for the fans’ and in another he finishes with 'May the Force be with you.'

Watch John Boyega surprise some New York theatregoers below:

A video posted by @john_boyega on