Stars of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Harrison Ford and John Boyega shared a distinctively Nigerian meal at Peckham at the end of a day's filming at Pinewood Studios in 2014. Being an old Peckham resident and of Nigerian descent, the 805 restaurant at Old Kent Road in London was Boyega's choice. Naturally, the place went into a tizzy at seeing Han Solo and Finn casually stroll in.
The diner's manager Emmanuel James recalls: "Someone came out the back to see me and was like 'Harrison Ford's here' and I didn't believe it."
James further says: "Staff were asking each other, are we absolutely sure that's him?"'
"You just would never expect it so it took a few minutes to work out if it was really him. Seeing someone out of context, it's hard for it to sink in, you know."
So what did Han Solo and Finn have at the 805? No, Ford did not request the nkwobi, which is diced cow foot. According to James, Ford ordered egusi soup and pounded yam while Boyega had fruit cocktails.
Boyega describes his Peckham adventure with Ford: "I took him to a Nigerian restaurant in south east London, he walked up into that place like he was Nigerian.
"Literally, we just had Nigerian food.
"People always said 'when you meet Harrison, he's casual, he's laid back'. And he's all those things, he is, but at the same time, he knows who he is. He knows that he's Indiana Jones, he knows that he's Han Solo, so that's why when we walked into an environment where people didn't expect him there he walks in slow motion. So they can take it in."
Harrison Ford's return to 'Star Wars' was widely embraced by fandom. Many were quite happy that Ford's request to have his character die at the end of 'Star Wars: Episode 6 Return of the Jedi' did not come to fruition.
In turn, Ford says in an interview: "I have actually relished this entire experience in a way that I had not anticipated".
"My interest was peaked, I was interested in reading a script to see what they plan to do with the character - whether I found it interesting, and when I read the script I was."
In separate interview with Jonathan Ross, who asked him if he considers the anticipation of the public when he agreeing to a role, Ford playfully says: "No Jonathan, I'm in it for the money."
He also reveals: "I don't have a favourite movie, each of them are so different, one to the other, made under different circumstances in a different time and I love to work."
