Wunmi Mosaku shares deep insights into her role as Annie in the acclaimed film ‘Sinners’. Her portrayal of the spiritual healer in the Jim Crow South demanded profound personal exploration and experience.
Embracing Annie’s power
Wunmi Mosaku dove into Annie’s world as a hoodoo practitioner and estranged partner to Michael B. Jordan’s Smoke. The role pushed her to confront inner barriers. She told E! News, “I discovered so much about myself through Annie. The most daunting aspect was confronting my own biases, my colonized mindset, and the insecurities I carry.”She continued to unpack the growth. “To truly embody her character, I had to release many of those doubts and embrace my femininity more fully.” Mosaku found beauty in the challenge. “Annie can be intimidating, but she possesses a profound beauty when you step into the shoes of someone who is grounded, empowered, loving, spiritual, and connected. It was challenging, yet the best challenge I’ve ever faced.”
Acting as personal therapy
Wunmi Mosaku views her craft through a healing lens, especially as she expects her second child with husband Tash Moseley. Every role becomes a mirror to the self. “I often see acting as a form of therapy,” she remarked. “We must confront various facets of ourselves”, she said in the same interview.Her preparation extended to unlearning preconceptions about spirituality. In another reflection, she noted, “I had to unlearn quite a bit. It’s integral to my personal development, my connection to Pan-A and Indigenous. Witchcraft has often been depicted negatively. However, through embodying Annie and engaging with hoodoo practitioners and spiritualists, I opened my heart to ancestral wisdom, love, and protection. The portrayal of witchcraft as negative stems from its potency; colonizers benefit from our disconnection and self-fear.”Ryan Coogler cast Mosaku after spotting her in We Own This City. “On my last day of filming, he mentioned that he had watched the trailer for [the HBO crime series] We Own This City,” she recalled. The film blends horror with deep emotional truths, set against racial tensions.Mosaku describes Annie to the same portal vividly elsewhere: “She is a healer. She’s a lover. She’s a mother. She’s Smoke’s safe place, his haven, his sanctuary. Um, she’s the person who kind of just sees before everyone else sees.” She praised the project highly. “This has been the most wonderful project of my career so far.”In ‘Sinners’, Annie stands as a pillar. “She is a spiritualist, conjure woman, and a healer. She is a pillar and center in the community. She owns a little shop with roots, herbs, and she also cooks. She is Smoke’s other half.” Her connection runs deep. “She’s connected to the motherland, and she’s connected to the spiritual world; she’s a very powerful person.”Mosaku tapped into motherhood for authenticity. “Being a mom is an integral part of Annie, and it’s an integral part of me, now. I was like, ‘I can learn from her as a mother.’” The role resonated post-childbirth. “I didn’t realize how lonely it felt until I felt like, ‘Oh, we are all feeling this love together,’” she said of audience reactions.This journey not only elevated ‘Sinners’ but also enriched Wunmi Mosaku’s own path, blending vulnerability with strength in every scene.
