I always wanted to be an actor, and I think some people in my family were like: really? Can he do this? And I’d say, yes I can: look at John Boyega in Star Wars. He’s just like me, he’s a young black guy, and look how well he’s doing.

Role models are so important: you need to see someone who has things in common with you, who’s doing what you want to do. It helps you know this isn’t an impossible dream, it’s something achievable, it’s possible. Seeing him there gave me the confidence to follow in his footsteps. I’ve trained with the National Youth Theatre Rep Company, I’ve been in West End shows, and I’ve just had a part in a show at The Vaults.

Like Boyega I grew up in London. I had lots of strong male role models around me, from football coaches to my dad, but no one in my family was a creative, which is why they weren’t sure whether I could cut it as an actor. But when they saw John they could see that yes, I could do it, too.

I got to meet him once, after he’d been in Woyzeck at the Old Vic and, one day, my ambition is to work alongside him. I really think that will happen.

Is there someone you’d like to say thank you to? Write to us at magazine@observer.co.uk