Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan are still on their Sinners promo tour, but expanding on the backstory. Days after the film earned record-setting Academy Award nominations, the dynamic duo pulled back the curtain on how their creative partnership shaped one of the year’s most talked-about films.
In the new episode of Proximity Media’s In Proximity podcast, hosted by Paola Mardo. The discussion feels less like press and more like two collaborators talking shop. Coogler and Jordan move with the ease of artists who have been building together for years, refining a shared language through trust and repetition.
For Coogler, Sinners started with structure. He treated the film like a blueprint, charting every stage of Smoke and Stack’s lives before cameras rolled. “For me, working on a script as a writer, it was a lot of math,” Coogler said. “Just figuring out how old these guys were.”
He even created a spreadsheet for Jordan, breaking down timelines, turning points, and shared history.
Set during the 1930s blues era, Sinners stretches far beyond its surface. Coogler traced the twins’ origins through World War I and into Chicago’s criminal underworld. He described the process as moving forward and backward at once, making sure each brother’s choices felt earned. Loyalty, betrayal, and survival guided the story’s emotional weight.
Ryan Coogler & Michael B. Jordan Unveil Sinners’ Smoke & Stacks’ Past In New Podcast
Jordan matched that precision with his own discipline. Playing twin brothers meant no shortcuts.
He built two separate inner lives, keeping individual journals for Smoke and Stack. Each character carried distinct rhythms and instincts that never overlapped.
Voice became the final layer. Working closely with dialect coach Beth McGuire, Jordan developed unique registers for each twin. “Key phrase is like a phrase that you would use to help your muscle memory,” he explained.
Smoke’s voice pulled from late-1930s recordings. Stack’s tone came from an older Southern woman. Jordan replayed the audio between takes to switch seamlessly.
The podcast doesn’t dodge the darkness. Coogler is blunt about who these men are. “These are very bad men,” he said. “They’re murderers, they’re robbers.” Still, he pushed for complexity, insisting on showing humanity alongside harm.
Between heavy moments, levity cuts through. Coogler laughs about his on-set espresso ritual, personally pouring shots for cast and crew. It’s a small detail that reflects the care behind the chaos.
For fans still unpacking Sinners, the episode offers rare insight. It shows how intention, discipline, and brotherhood turned vision into something lasting.
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