Wunmi Mosaku comes out fighting in supernatural-horror ‘Sinners’.
Photographer: Ashley Randall. Stylist: Shameelah Hicks. Hair: Vernon Francois. Makeup: Uzo.
Wunmi Mosaku graduated from RADA in 2007 and soon became a familiar face on British television, appearing in long-running series Vera and Luther and winning a BAFTA for her performance in Damilola, Our Loved Boy. Her international reputation was secured by roles in Lovecraft Country and Deadpool & Wolverine, and this month she stars alongside Michael B. Jordan in period horror Sinners.
The path her career has taken was a surprise to Mosaku, who envisaged working mainly in theatre. “That was what I saw the most diverse casting in. I left drama school wanting to be the most in-demand Shakespearean theatrical actress; that was my goal. It's funny because I've not really done any Shakespeare, not on stage anyway, since leaving.” She had also hoped to study opera at a conservatoire once her voice matured sufficiently but by that stage taking a second student loan wasn’t an option. Opera’s loss has been drama’s gain – and although theatre remains her first love, television and film have turned out to offer plenty of opportunities to someone with Mosaku’s talent. “Sometimes your dreams are smaller than you know,” she observes. “You don't realize where your life can take you, because you've only had one experience.”
Mosaku first discussed Sinners with writer-director Ryan Coogler on Zoom in early 2024, before doing a short read-through scene with Michael B. Jordan a few days later. Read-throughs can be nerve-wracking for Mosaku, who has dyslexia – “there's always that nugget of insecurity that follows me around from schooldays” – but this one went extraordinarily well, even though she’d only had sight of one scene from the script. “I thought it was the most perfect scene, so well-written. The depth, tenderness and understanding – I felt I knew so much about them without being knocked over the head with obvious exposition. I was in tears at the end of the read-through. Just from that scene, I was like, ‘Whatever you're doing, I want in, because this is beautiful.’” The instant appreciation was mutual: Coogler offered her the part in the room.
“Ryan has written this character with such sensitivity: this is people’s culture, this is people’s religion and practices, so I want to absolutely honour the truth of what people believe”
Mosaku plays Annie, a Hoodoo practitioner – “someone who is completely rooted and grounded in the earth, the creation, the spirit world, magic, conjuring and healing”. Her wisdom, intuition and quasi-maternal care for other characters add emotional complexity to the story. “I find her very inspiring. She moves with intention, purpose and heart.” The script was based on extensive research on life in the Prohibition-era Mississippi Delta, to which Mosaku added her own investigations on the origins and practices of Hoodoo. “Ryan has written this character with such sensitivity: this is people's culture, this is people's religion and practices, so I want to absolutely honour the truth of what people believe.” But she also uncovered a deeper link with her own ancestry. “I didn't realize that Hoodoo had anything to do with me. As a Yoruba woman born in Nigeria, raised in the UK, I learnt about Ifá, which is a traditional Yoruba religion that Hoodoo and Voodoo come from. It really inspired me and made me feel so connected to my motherland. I had no idea Annie had a message for me when I took the part, but I soon realized when doing the research how loud her message for me is.”
Other cast members include Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo and Jack O’Connell, who plays Remmick: “You can't quite take your eyes off him in a scene – everything he brings is really fresh, crisp, new, improvised. His performance was different and unsuspected every take. He's a brilliant actor – creepy and charming at the same time.” Jordan has a dual role as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, meaning all his scenes had to be filmed twice. “So we have Michael’s stand-in, Percy [Bell], who was great. We would do the scene with Michael as either Stack or Smoke, and Percy playing the other. Michael would do a costume change, then we would do the scene again. The science behind it had a lot of timing, making sure that he was responding to what we had already put on camera. I hope I'm not ruining any of the movie magic!”
Image: Ashley Randall.
From the beginning, Mosaku was awestruck by Jordan’s uncanny ability to transform himself into very different personas for Smoke and Stack. “Michael does impeccable character work for the two characters, because literally I could tell with my back turned who he was coming on to set as. A week into rehearsals I did my camera test with him as Smoke, then he went off to change and I thought he was going to change into something else of Smoke’s. But as I was turning around in my new costume, someone comes up behind me, and I'm like, ‘Who is that?’ I turned around and it was so clearly Stack. He had to play two characters so that we all had someone to play against. It was a lot of work to switch motivation, lines, it was a lot for him. Oh my gosh, I don't know how he did it.”
Shot on IMAX, with impressive special effects and a hefty budget for on-location filming in Louisiana, Sinners was a huge production, so Mosaku was pleasantly surprised by how relaxed and intimate filming turned out to be. “Ryan is such a gentle but firm leader; he takes his time, he gives great notes, very thoughtful, very mindful. The way he sometimes whispered notes, so that it was a private note just for you, no one else was privy to it.” Coogler also fostered a family-orientated set, centred around his long-time collaborators such as Jordan, composer Ludwig Göransson and cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw. “There is this kinship between everyone. Everybody knows everybody's kids. It felt we all really got to know each other and trust each other.” The nature of filming meant that the cast and crew were together on set most of the time, strengthening those relationships. “It felt really hopeful that these massive stories, with these huge canvases, with big budgets and high stakes, can be told with people who still put people and feeling first, not just studio, the money.”
Despite its supernatural elements and chilling scenes, Sinners has a profundity that transcends genre, Mosaku says. “I kind of forget that this is a horror because of the relationships, the love, the music, and the questions that it makes me ask myself – the imprint it's had on me as a person. Annie has changed me. Working with Ryan and Michael has changed me. New Orleans has changed me. It's so much more than a horror, it's so much more.”
Sinners is in cinemas 18th April.
Author: Rachel Goodyear