Actress Wunmi Mosaku has made a significant impact with her performance in Ryan Coogler’s supernatural thriller “Sinners,” one of the most anticipated films of the year. Her role as Annie, the wife of Elijah “Smoke” Moore—a character played by Michael B. Jordan—has earned her a nomination for an Actor Award. The film itself has received five nominations, highlighting its critical and commercial success.
Mosaku expressed her surprise at the recognition, telling KTLA 5’s Melvin Robert, “It’s just kind of overwhelming. You do this because you love it, and you think, ‘I love this role, I love this project,’ and you don’t expect all these beautiful jewels to come after it too. (It) feels really good.”
The Nigerian-British actress is also thrilled about the overall response to the movie, especially given that many people are not going to the movies as often as they used to. She shared how some fans have shown their dedication by watching the film multiple times.
“I’ve met people who’ve gone 10 times to the cinema,” she said. “That’s an investment of time, money, babysitters, you know, like, it’s a lot, and that’s a lot of love.”
Mosaku also praised the depth of her character, Annie, highlighting her strength, connection to ancestors, and capacity for deep love and forgiveness.
“I just love how powerful she is, how connected she is to the ancestors and her purpose, how her capacity to love with such depth and forgiveness and humanity and just her wisdom, she’s just incredible,” she said.
It’s no surprise that Mosaku was immediately captivated by Coogler’s script. She described being “blown away” after reading seven pages of the story.
“I was just like, I know so much about these two people in seven pages without feeling like I’m being hit over the head with exposition or, and I said to Ryan, I don’t know what this is, but these seven pages have kind of restored my faith in our industry, and I’m so excited for whatever you’re creating.”
Working alongside Michael B. Jordan, Mosaku found him to be a great collaborator. She even discovered a surprising fact about him.
“He loves to iron,” she said. “I’m the complete opposite. I iron one thing a year… I like wrinkles!”
While she may not share his passion for ironing, Mosaku enjoys dressing up for events. She will be attending the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, where the film received seven nominations, including best motion picture-drama, best director (Coogler), best actor (Jordan), best screenplay, best original score, and cinematic and box office achievement.
She described her Matthew Reisman-designed dress as “special.”
“I’m very excited about that,” she said. “That’s a fun part of all of it. It’s nice to get dressed up. I do it with my daughter. She gets her hair done too, at the same time.”
The Golden Globes will take place on January 11. Viewers can watch live on CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST or stream it on Paramount+ Premium.
“Sinners” is now available in digital format.
