John Boyega has joked he feels sorry for Star Wars fans who turn up to watch his new play expecting to see something else.

The 25-year-old actor, who shot to fame playing Finn in box office smash Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is currently treading the boards at London's The Old Vic theater in Woyzeck by German dramatist Georg Buchner. In the downbeat play, which was left unfinished after the writer died from typhus in 1837, before being updated by Harry Potter playwright Jack Thorne, he plays a troubled British soldier, desperately short on money with a new baby to feed in early 1980s Cold War Berlin.

However, well aware that many of his fans might not quite know what’s in store, he shared his apologies with the London Evening Standard in an interview.

“I feel sorry for the people who came in Star Wars T-shirts! I apologize if it’s not what they’d expected to see," he smiled after his first performance on Tuesday (23May17). "But it’s a great way of showcasing what I’m about. So they know that I care about the quality of entertainment I’m putting out.”

It is Boyega's first appearance on the London stage in eight years, and the actor, who enjoyed a visit from Star Wars co-star Lupita Nyong'o at the theater recently, is loving being back on stage in his hometown.

“I feel safe on stage because I have been trained for it," explained the actor who will return as Finn in Star Wars: The Last Jedi this December. “It’s fantastic. I can get home in 15 minutes. I’m on the south side of the river which is something very special."