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The British-Nigerian Actress stars alongside Michael B. Jordan in the 1930s– set supernatural film outside three Weeks Ago.
In the Spring Of 2024, Wunmi Mosaku and her SINNERS castmates kept hoping that people would embrace Ryan Coogler’s story in the same manner they were on set. Fast forward to the present day, the film is now the Black Panther filmmaker’s second cultural phenomenon, sporting the decade’s strongest reviews from critics and audiences, as well as the biggest opening weekend ($48 million) for an original film in the 2020s.
Wunmi Mosaku has built a formidable standing in the horror genre. Whether it’s an indie hit like 2020’s His House or the thrilling series Lovecraft Country, she brings a Presence to this genre that keeps it grounded, no matter how the mystical things get. Stepping into the shoes of Hoodoo practitioner “Annie” in Ryan Coggler’s latest film gave the British-Nigerian a chance to do something different: play within the genre a little bit more and learn about our heritage.
Born in Zaria, Nigeria and Raised in the UK, Mosaku seemed destined for a life in theatre, but ever since winning a BAFTA in 2017 for her performance as “Gloria” in the film DAMILOLA, Our Loved Boy, she has flourished on screen. Roles in Luther, The Loki TV Series, Deadpool & Wolverine, and more have kept raising her profile. In SINNERS, Coggler’s latest since the record-setting Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever, Mosaku stars alongside Michael B.Jordan who plays the twins “Smoke” and “Stack”.
The vampire horror-thriller chronicles Smoke, Stack and Sammie Moore’s quest for freedom and how their individual ambitions impact their Mississippi Delta community in 1932. The Nigeria-born, England-raised Mosaku plays Annie, a Hoodoo practitioner and the estranged wife of Michael B. Jordan’s twin brother character, Smoke, who’s more disciplined and business-minded than his twin counterpart, Stack. Annie and Smoke lost a baby daughter together seven years earlier, prompting Smoke and Stack to leave their loved ones behind for hopefully greener pastures in Chicago.
The Character “Annie” has a complicated past with “Smoke”, which resurfaces when the twins returns to Mississippi Delta after making their fortune in Chicago to Open a Juke Joint. The draws on various West African Traditions including Voodoo elements, as the story Unfolds to become more than just an Everyday Horror film. Coogler, who wrote and produced it, conducted extensive research on life in the Prohibition-Era Delta. In an interview recently she held, Mosaku Explains that this historical grounding also helped to make Annie a Stand-Out role in her Career.
Questionnaire: You’re no stranger to horror films; How do you see the Genre as an Allegory that can speak to some pressing and important issues that are relevant right now?
Wunmi Mosaku: Horror is a powerful genre because of the Fear. People often underestimate the fear of losing one’s culture and connection- the true horror of assimilation. When we talk about people from different backgrounds, we sometimes forget the enormous sacrifices they have made. Whether someone is seeking asylum or migrating due to economical reasons, their journey often involves profound loss. There’s violence in having parts of your identity being taken away whether through colonialization, forced assimilation, or not being accepted or celebrated.
Horror is a great genre in which to tell the story you can already feel the jeopardy. You can feel the fear of losing oneself or part of oneself in a way you might not have thought about if you were thinking about people who look different, sound different or someone you’ve othered. I think horror is a great genre for that.
Sinners currently boasts the decade’s biggest opening for an original film, as well as the 2020s’ best reviews for a wide release. There’s also been countless compliments about your performance. How have you been receiving all this?
It’s so overwhelming and so beautiful. It feels like a real reflection of how powerful, magical and hopeful everything felt from the moment I read the first scene between Annie and Smoke. The quality of writing blew my mind; there was such depth and humanity and love and grief between these two very different people. So I just feel like [the reception] is all a part of the same story, and I’m really grateful that people feel how we’ve been feeling. It’s not guaranteed. We kept saying that we hope people feel the love of what we were trying to do, and so it feels really good to have it reflected back as passionately as we felt on set.
Your chemistry read with Michael B. Jordan revolved around Annie and Smoke’s 7-page reunion, and it went so well that you were offered the role on the spot. And you’ve since stated that Annie is Elijah’s protector, teacher, mother, lover and friend. That reunion scene really does have all those roles on display, doesn’t it?
100 percent. I don’t know how Ryan did it. In the beginning of the scene, one of the young girls is seven years old, and that’s the same age that Annie and Smoke’s daughter would’ve been. All that kind of imagery and reflection, I just don’t know how he did it. The thing that I keep thinking about is that Smoke’s mojo bag worked. It’s worked through all the years Annie and Smoke have known each other, and their love is so powerful and so connected that her spell worked. She gave everything to his mojo bag, and he had to take it off for him to come to an end. Her love for him is also a source of her power and her magic.
I was going to ask you if he removed it before the final gunfight to ensure that he ended up with her and their baby.
That’s a hundred percent how I read it. He has no one left. He doesn’t have his brother, he doesn’t have his partner, he doesn’t have his baby. So what would be the point in continuing her protection? There’s also a bit of guilt there, because why does it work for him and no one else?
As a Hoodoo practitioner, or “conjure woman,” Annie is the only human character who has a grasp of what’s happening and how to stop it. Did you dive pretty deep into Hoodoo and vampirism just so you had it all in the back of your mind on the day?
Yes, I did a lot of research into the Hoodoo practice and faith and how it’s derived from Voodoo and Ifá, the traditional Yoruba religion. That was my main research because she says it herself that she’s only heard about vampires. She knows about Haints; she wears Haint Blue, and her shop is colored Haint Blue. So I did more research into what she believed and what she definitely knew about fixing spells and roots and prayer. In that little scene with the two girls, they asked for a little pinch of “High John,” so I researched what that root is and how it works and how to prepare it.
It was more important to keep the discovery of vampirism. We all know what vampires are in the present day, but these vampires are different in a way. There’s this community of fellowship and love that they’re building. So I wanted to maintain the myth she had heard and was trying to remember.
Hoodooism was her core, her anchor, her power, her source, so that research was paramount. It had to be treated with respect and reverence. In Western culture, Voodoo, Hoodoo and traditional, Indigenous faiths and practices can be shown in such a negative light. That’s how you’ve seen it in James Bond movies or The Crucible. It’s looked down upon and also seen as an evil. So I really wanted to make sure that Hoodoo could never be considered evil. People can do bad things with any faith and religion, but keeping Hoodoo as pure as it is in her world was paramount for me. The women that I met who practice it are pure, loving and healing spirits.
You mentioned that these vampires are different, and it seems like there might be more honor and humanity in them than most other iterations. For example, Vampire Stack upholds his promise to Smoke about letting Sammie live out his life in peace. He even gives 1992 Sammie (Buddy Guy) a warm hug goodbye. Vampire Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) was also devastated at the sight of Annie being killed by Smoke. Do you see them as being more human than most?
I think their wants and desires are the same [as when they were alive], if not heightened. Mary’s desire for community and for Stack are her fuel. When they’re in their human forms, they can hide behind the smoke and mirrors of who they want the world to see them as. You can lie to yourself and others. Stack is lying to himself when he says he doesn’t want Mary there, and she’s lying to herself when she’s living with her husband in a white world in Arkansas. But when they are turned, they can truly live their afterlife by fully going for what they want and desire: love, community, fellowship, acceptance and a world free of prejudice. The vampires are all united.
It’s interesting because Stack and Mary don’t feel bad when they’re stuck on that side. They feel liberated in a way, which is really strange. It makes you question, “Would it be that bad on the other side?” The answer is yes, because they’re still vampires, but they get to go for what they want without being interrupted by social expectations, rules and regulations. Mary can be with Stack, which she was not allowed to do when living.
When I last spoke to you for season one of Loki, we talked about what a small world this industry can be. It was in response to co-stars Tom Hiddleston and Gugu Mbatha-Raw being former classmates of yours at RADA. Well, Sinners DP, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, also shot Loki season one. Did you turn to her at one point and say that you were both a long way from the TVA?
Yeah, Autumn is someone I love so dearly, and we were so excited and proud to be on this together. On Loki, especially season one, I was very impressed by the crew that [director] Kate Herron surrounded herself with on that set. Every single head of department, or HOD, was a woman. We had so many people of color, and Ryan also had so many HODs who are women. So it feels really special to be on projects where women are celebrated and elevated in their roles on set because it can be so male dominated. Ryan also wrote the women in this film so that all of them are strong. Grace [Li Jun Li], Pearline [Jayme Lawson], Mary and Annie are all such strong women. Even Joan [Lola Kirke] is strong; she opens the door to the Choctaw [vampire hunters] without [her husband] Bert.
So I love that Autumn and I have this history of being on sets that feel groundbreaking by having women heads of department. That shouldn’t be the case, but it does feel like that. So we did turn to each other a lot to say how great it was to be working together again on another project that was pushing things forward.
Sammie’s (Miles Caton) surreal musical sequence is quite the showstopper, and it’s going to be talked about for years to come. That said, when you first read that big swing on the page, did you have a healthy amount of skepticism as to whether it would all land in this 1930s period piece?
Absolutely not, but the script changed from the time I auditioned to the read-through with the cast. The script I got two days before the read-through had the past and future ancestors in the scene, and I got chills. That extra detail, I was like, “Wow, this man is a genius.” Ryan is so brilliant that he took what I thought was already a perfect script and elevated it in such a way. So, when we got to the read-through, it was so powerful, and we were all in tears, especially hearing Miles sing for the first time.
So I don’t think doubt ever crept into any of our minds from the moment we heard Ryan Coogler was doing an original project. He is such a keeper of culture and cinema, and now, music. He just thinks so deeply that doubt never crossed my mind while being involved in this, and I can guarantee that every single actor and crewmember felt the same.
That’s amazing that it was a late addition to the script.
Mm-hmm.
How would you describe those days on set where you and the other 1932 characters were intermingling with all the anachronistic characters?
It was shot over two days, and the first one was the exterior at night. There was a lot of technicality because of the fire and the crane. I keep saying the word magical when describing this experience, but it really was. We were really joyful and hyped and excited on that day, and seeing all the acrobats and stunt people and the dancers just blew us away.
The second day came weeks later, and we got to talk with everyone more. There was less fire, less bugs and so many beautiful moments. I brought my family to set; my daughter, my husband and my in-laws came to visit. I just thought it would be really powerful for her to be on that set and to see these people representing her people from before and after. And it was really powerful.
Papa Toto is the older guy who plays [a precursor to the banjo] behind Sammie, and we called him Sammie’s ancestor. So he was talking to Miles [off-camera], and what he was passing on to Miles in that moment was entirely the same sentiment that Delta Slim [Delroy Lindo] passed on to Sammie in the earlier scene. And I was just so moved that I needed to take a little snap of the moment because I didn’t want to forget it. It was so meta that they were talking about where his gift comes from: the motherland, his ancestors and what his purpose with this gift will be. This whole journey has just been so powerful.
Smoke fulfills his promise to Annie by driving a stake through her heart before she can turn. Ryan then put Smoke in the same situation with Stack, but Smoke couldn’t bring himself to end Vampire Stack’s life. What did you make of those two conflicting choices? Why could he do it for Annie and not Stack?
That’s a really good question. Annie asked, and Annie shared with the group that this [vampiric] fate is wicked. They never see the sun or feel the warmth of a sunrise, and they’re never able to rejoin their ancestors, which, in Annie’s mind, is part of the right and righteous cycle. And then, to forever live on earth, in a place with conflict and pain and sorrow, that’s not her goal.
So Smoke kills her because the fate of Annie as a vampire is absolutely against everything she believes in and everything she wants. Stack has already turned, but he’s still Stack. He’s still his brother; he’s just in a different form. And I believe that he didn’t kill Stack, because he trusted Stack to keep his promise [regarding Sammie]. Stack now gets to live his life with the love of his life [Mary] in perpetuity, and Smoke understands that too. He’s answering Annie and Stack’s prayers and wants in each moment.
What nuances have stuck with you about Michael’s dual role?
I just realized one twin [Stack] has dimples because he smiles, and the other twin [Smoke] doesn’t because he doesn’t smile. Smoke’s face is literally different, even though it’s the exact same face playing both characters. That detailed energetic change that Michael did as both characters, I just feel so inspired by him and everyone else on set.
Superhero movies have conditioned today’s audiences to think that mid- or post-credit scenes are meant to set up more movies, and I’ve seen that assumption online about Sinners’ mid-credit scene. To me, it’s just an epilogue that happens to reside during that space. Do you see it that way? Or do you consider it the beginning of the Sinners Cinematic Universe?
You would always wonder what happened to Stack and Mary. You would assume that they were killed, but you now see the side of Smoke where he couldn’t kill his brother. You then see that Stack keeps his promise to his brother on the other side. So it’s circular, and it’s a perfect ending. Yes, you could have put it before the credits, but putting it in the credits means that you finish 1932 before jumping forward.
And Sammie, at the end, singing “This Little Light of Mine,” it’s also a circular ending. We see him driving up to the church at the beginning and the end, so this is the beginning of that day. He’s still in the same costume. I feel like it’s the beginning of who he was before the twins came back.
So it felt right to me, and it felt complete. It doesn’t feel like it means that there must be a number two. It feels like a complete and perfect script. Ryan always impresses me, but I’d be so impressed if he was able to make a second film with as much powerful meaning. So I feel like he wanted to make a perfect cinematic experience, which I think he did, but Ryan can do anything. His brain thinks like no other.
Last year, I had a hand in publishing a deleted scene from Deadpool & Wolverine, and it was the moment between you and Rob Delaney that solidified B-15 and Peter’s romance. Were you disappointed by that omission? Or are you pretty zen about these things?
I was a little bit. I was like, “Aw, we didn’t do the little B-15 and Peter Pool going on a date?” It was such a sweet scene. It wasn’t a whole scene, but it was the two of them coming back from a date. And she was like, “That was really great.” (Laughs.) So it was just nice to see a different side of B-15, but I wouldn’t say I was disappointed. You get used to things being taken out of films and TV that you love, but I also know that there’s always a reason. So I was like, “Aw!”
I’ve said many times that Loki fulfilled the original promise of the MCU on Disney+. The aim was to deepen existing characters and develop new ones, but also create crossover opportunities on the movie side of things. Was it pretty gratifying to know that your work connected to the point of making that jump to the big screen?
Yeah, it really was, and it was so nice to be asked. You never know when they’re going to call on you, and you sign up knowing that you can be in any project, but it doesn’t mean that you’re definitely going to be in any project. So it was really nice when they called because it makes you think, “Aww, they do like me, and they like my character.”
To close on Sinners, what are you going to take with you? What’s been imprinted on you for all time, always?
(Recognizing the Loki catchphrase, Mosaku points at the screen like Rick Dalton and smiles.) On a personal level, I’ve learned so much about my own ancestry in doing the Hoodoo research into Ifá. My understanding of the people I’m from and our survival and ability to thrive is because of these traditional indigenous religions and medicines and wisdoms. I’ve also been doing Yoruba lessons for five years, and only now, since playing Annie, is it really sticking. I can now do a whole class in Yoruba and not speak English. [Writer’s Note: Yoruba is the second-largest ethnic group in Mosaku’s native Nigeria.]
On a professional level, the way that Ryan runs his set, he really empowers people. Each person is the head of their own department. That’s how he treats every person on set. He knows everyone by name, and he asks about their families. He then brings his family to set, and our families are also allowed to come to set, so everything became a family affair.
It wasn’t an easy shoot. Louisiana is an amazing place, but the weather is difficult. It threw us a few spanners in the works. We were eaten alive by bugs every day, and alligators turned up on set. It could have felt miserable, but not one day felt miserable, even during six weeks of night shoots. So I pray that I get to be on more sets that feel like this one. It’s made me realize there never needs to be a toxic environment for great work. This was such a healthy, nutritious, inspiring environment, and that’s definitely the standard that I want for the rest of my career.
I imagine you’re as much of a fan Of Black Panther and of Director Coggler’s previous work as we are. What was your Expectation of working with him like going in?
Working with Ryan was a dream come true. I had never met him before, and I got a call saying Ryan Coggler wanted me for his next movie. I was like, “Wow, Ryan Coggler knows Who I am?” I did not expect that. Then we jumped on a Zoom call. He sent me a “Seven-Page Scene”, which just blew me away. I was like, “How did you get so much depth, quality and history? How did you get me to love these two people so utterly in seven pages without bashing me over the head with exposition?” He writes so delicately.
And [the Zoom Call] was really long. I was expecting it to be 30 minutes, but we ended up talking for about an hour and a half. We just shared ideas and talked. He told me about the film and we talked about our childhood, school and why we do what we do. And I came off that call so inspired. I was like, even if that was it, that interaction was meaningful. It was meaningful for my future in this industry. It was inspiring.
So I had high expectations going into the set because of that interaction. But being on the set, it qagain surpassed that. He has a way about him and surrounds himself with people he trusts. It is a feeling of family, safety and creative freedom. We feel like equals. And his wife, Zinzi, and our producer are such incredible people. I felt excited again about my job and my career, and it stopped feeling like a job.
With you having that awakening with playing this character, do you see yourself in Annie at all? Can you relate to her in any way?
I do. I feel like she taught me a lot about myself, but obviously, we’re both mothers. I felt like I really wanted to and needed to tap into my power. That’s something I think I shy away from, and I don’t know why, but I do. And playing her, I felt powerful. I felt connected. I was having dreams. I was having messages. I felt vibrationally I was tapping into her, she was tapping into me, and there was something brewing and a wisdom deepening.
Can you speak a little bit about developing a bond with Michael B. Jordan and how you guys built that on set?
We were very lucky because we had two weeks of rehearsals. So Michael, me, and Ryan, we would sit in a room and we would talk about the two of them (Annie and Smoke), but we would also talk about ourselves, our similarities, the things that we want, pray for, hope for within ourselves, [and] for the characters. It was a very open, vulnerable space, but it was a sacred space because we really shared. We became family, we created a safe space. I remember saying to him once, ‘Oh, I just felt like I really wanted to hold your hand, but I didn’t want to get in your way. I felt like this is what Annie wanted to do, but I wasn’t sure if that’s what Smoke needed.’
Because it’s like Annie knows Smoke, she will do what Smoke needs, but Wunmi is still learning Michael, and Wunmi is still learning Smoke in a way. I said, ‘I felt like I wanted to do this.’ And he was like, ‘I felt like I wanted to do that.’ We were like, ‘whatever you feel, just do now.’ We now know that our instincts are right. Our instincts are in sync, so now we are not allowed to be afraid; just do. That was a really beautiful moment. We were like, ‘Okay, tomorrow if we feel it, we do it.’ And we know that we are in a safe place, there’s no wrong answers.’
The love story between Annie and Smoke is my favorite underlying storyline. What are some of your favorite elements of that romance?
The support. I think what I really love is in the third act when there’s huge loss, and Smoke is in a very vulnerable position and heartbroken. I love how we work together. But there was this thing that kept happening wherever Michael was, I was right behind him. He would look for me sometimes, and I would look for him sometimes, especially in those emotional scenes. I don’t know; we didn’t talk about it, but we were always just kind of like there. But never when he was Stack, absolutely never. The pull was never even there when he was Stack.
What was your first reaction when you saw the vampire-ness of it all, how they looked, how they were introduced in the film?
The first time I met the vampires at the door was the first time Annie meets them. They were just brilliant. It was actually quite a funny scene for us to play. There’s something about Jack, the way he, I don’t know, he didn’t have his fangs in, but it felt like he had his fangs in, especially the way he’s like [impersonates O’Connell]. There was something about it that was just creepy, but it was brilliant. I loved our scenes together. Us in the doorway, I think is probably … the space I remember the most is the doorway and me, Delroy, Michael, Hailee, Jayme, and Miles, and the vampires at the door.
What did the idea of him tapping into the past and background bring to this? For you, someone born in Nigeria but who grew up in England, was that connection to your past renewed for you during this process?
Absolutely! The character of “Annie” is a Hoodoo priestess, and Hoodoo derives from Ifá, a traditional yoruba religion. It’s something I have never looked into. It’s never been a part of my upbringing. Doing the research for “Annie” introduced me to a part of me and my ancestry, and it resonated very deeply with me.
I’ve been taking Yoruba lessons for five years, and finally in the last six months, the language has started sticking with me. I felt so connected. I felt so inspired. This character reminded me of who I am, where i’m from, my duty and purpose in this lineage, and where it might go.
This character, this film did all that for me. It’s amazing how you can find a piece of yourself in this strange, fictional character, but it feels so real and tangible.
Was there anything particular about the Voodoo that blew your mind, was really interesting, or was something you didn’t know?
My understanding of Voodoo was limited to what i’d seen in James Bond films and Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. I thought it was something dark and scary. I then discovered that it’s a healing religion- loving, spiritual, and connected. While anything can be misused, the women I met were community healers, mothers, and guardians of tradition. I learned to embrace rather than fear it. Voodoo is something beautiful that contributes to my strength. It’s part of the traditional medicine and part of why i’m here.
What would you say would be three words to describe this film, and why should people go and see it?
Heartful. I’m trying to say one word. Thrilling, thoughtful. I would say people should see it because I think Ryan Coogler is a genius. I think a true artist. I think he’s a keeper of the culture. I think he honors his gift and his place in the world, and what he’s preserving and connecting our cultures, our people, the things that matter, he is so necessary. His mind, his art, it brings people together. It brings continents together. It brings the future. It brings the past together. It brings our hopes and our fears. I just think because Ryan Coogler is Ryan Coogler, everything he does should be listened to.
The Enthralling, exciting, Adventurous, Horror entertaining Movie is out on all Cinemas Worldwide…So from us here (in excitement) at INTALKS AFRICA..What are you waiting For!!!
