Sinners Star Wunmi Mosaku Talks Michael B. Jordan & the Key Detail Audiences Didn’t See
When Wunmi Mosaku first auditioned for the role of Annie in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, she had a fleeting moment of hesitation. “I was like, ‘This is Michael B. Jordan. This could feel really intimidating,’” she tells W of meeting the horror film’s star, who plays bootlegging twins Smoke and Stack in a vampire-infested version of the Jim Crow South (Annie is the longtime lover of the former). What Mosaku found, however, was nothing but support. “It was just so easy,” she says. “There was a mutual respect, exploration, and collaboration. And then they offered me the job in the room, which was crazy.”
Mosaku is speaking to W from her home, a few days after the Sinners premiere made it the number-one movie at the box office. “This response feels like an extension of our experience making this film,” she says of the blockbuster’s massive success. The 38-year-old Nigerian-born British actress—who won a BAFTA for her role in 2016’s TV drama Damilola, Our Loved Boy—has been soaking up the moment despite fighting off a cold she caught from her young daughter. As a new mother, Mosaku quickly connected with her Sinners character, a Hoodoo healer still processing the loss of her and Smoke’s daughter in infancy. “Being a mom is an integral part of Annie, and it’s an integral part of me, now,” Mosaku says. “I was like, ‘I can learn from her as a mother.’” Below, Mosaku reflects on working with Coogler and Jordan, reconnecting with her Yoruba heritage, and whether Sinners deserves a prequel:
What stood out to you about the role of Annie?
When I first met Ryan, I had been given the scene with Annie and Smoke at her shop, and I was just completely bowled over by the quality of the writing. I couldn’t believe all of it was existing in these seven pages—how he captures the humanity, the grief, and the love of these characters.
A big component of Annie’s character is being a Hoodoo healer. How did you develop that aspect of her?
That was the key for me with Annie: finding her anchor and the source of her power, which is her faith and love. Hoodoo is a practice that I didn’t know anything about, so we had a Hoodoo consultant, and I did a ton of research. Just being in New Orleans, I met so many people who are either initiated, or have family members who are. I would go to Haus of Hoodoo, I looked into the Voodoo Museum and Voodoo Authentica; I met with witch doctors, and I read books about the Orishas and their powers. Learning that history as a Yoruba woman myself, when I knew nothing about it at all, really opened up something for me. It’s part of the message of the film: being in touch with your ancestry, and learning how their purpose is now manifested in you.
You’ve talked about bringing your daughter to set and feeling supported by the whole cast and crew. Did being a new mom influence your portrayal of Annie?
Absolutely. Her connection to her daughter, who is now an ancestor, is something I felt really connected to as a mother. There is something about her love for Smoke, the depth of it, that’s really interesting, too. I have so many questions about her history that come to me still.
How did you and Michael B. Jordan build the relationship between these two characters?
Ryan had a whole timeline of the twins going to war, coming back, when they met Mary and Annie, when Annie moved from Louisiana to Mississippi, and the child—he even gave us middle and last names. Ryan and Michael and I talked about how they get to this place where they don’t need to ask for forgiveness, and all that’s asked for is the truth.
We had done rehearsals, and on the day of filming that seven-page scene, Ryan told me: Instead of asking Smoke again, “Why are you here?” Ryan said to call Smoke by his given name, to call him Elijah. That opened up the whole scene for us. It was tingly. She calls him Elijah three times in the movie: that scene, in the death scene, and when they’re reunited. That’s who she loves, that’s why she can forgive and understand, because she knows when she’s dealing with Smoke and she knows when she’s dealing with Elijah.
Do you think any of that backstory might ever be shared in another format?
I know America loves a prequel, and a sequel, and a franchise, and a British version, and an American version [laughs]. But I know Ryan is a man of integrity, so he’s not going to do anything that isn’t right. I would love to continue exploring all of these characters. I wonder about the young girl in front of the shop all the time. From her playing with a flower, so innocent, and then getting this lesson of how to negotiate, and finding her voice. She goes from this very demure person to being like, “Bullshit! I told you they’re trying to trick you, Smoke!”
Do you have any thoughts on why Annie doesn’t make a mojo bag for herself?
So actually, Annie has a mojo bag. It’s not something you can see, but it’s in my costume. But I think her love for Smoke is so powerful that she gave everything she had to his mojo bag, and that’s why it didn’t work on her daughter. Smoke is the only one who doesn’t believe in it, but he wears it because he believes in her. I feel like Annie’s power is almost exaggerated through the love she has for Smoke.
Why do you think he takes his off at the end?
He doesn’t want the protection because he doesn’t have anyone to love anymore. Everything and everyone he cares about—other than Sammie—is gone. I think there’s also a bit of guilt. He knows Annie poured everything into him, and that’s why he survived.
This film has sparked a ton of Internet discourse. Have you paid attention to any of it?
If someone I know and love shares a video with me of something that they think I would like to see, then yes. I'll repost nice stuff or interesting stuff or artwork, but I don’t go looking, because it’s scary! I don’t know what I’m going to stumble across, and I want to keep this joyous moment pure. Everyone’s entitled to their opinions, but I don’t need to know everyone’s opinions.
