Viola Davis Rallies Behind ‘Sinners’ and Michael B. Jordan Ahead of Oscars
Sinners emerged as one of the most talked‑about films of the season after making Oscar history by earning 16 nominations, the highest total ever received by a single movie. The Southern-gothic horror film, directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan in a dual lead performance, was recognized across a remarkable range of categories. And EGOT winner Viola Davis is rooting for Sinners to take home every win possible. Here’s what she said ahead of the 98th Academy Awards.
Viola Davis wants to see ‘Sinners’ take ‘everything’ at the 98th Academy Awards
At the 98th Academy Awards, Sinners is dominating the field with a record‑breaking 16 Oscar nominations, the most ever received by a single film in Academy history. This haul surpassed the previous high of 14 nominations held by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016).
The nominations run deep across both major and technical categories. Sinners earned a nod for Best Picture, positioning it among the year’s top contenders. And Ryan Coogler was recognized for Best Director. Michael B. Jordan received a Best Actor nomination for his complex dual performance. Co‑stars such as Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku secured Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress nominations, respectively.
Beyond acting and filmmaking honors, the film was also nominated in craft and creative fields including Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song (“I Lied to You”), Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Visual Effects, and even the Oscars’ newly introduced Best Casting category.
Ahead of the Oscars, Viola Davis spoke out about her love for the film. She told Andy Cohen on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live that she generally has an “aversion” toward awards shows. “Which is sort of hypocritical of me because I’ll take it if they give it to me,” she added.
Davis then noted that she’d be extremely happy with Sinners winning big at the Oscars. “I think that there are a lot of wonderful performances out there, but I would be very happy if Sinners took everything,” she continued.
She had a viral moment when presenting an award to Michael B. Jordan
At the 32nd Annual Actor Awards, Viola Davis created a moment that quickly spread across social media. She presented Michael B. Jordan with the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role award for his work in Sinners. As she opened the envelope and realized Jordan had won, Davis couldn’t contain her excitement. She let out an audible gasp and exclaimed enthusiastically before even fully announcing his name, a clip that has since been viewed millions of times online.
Davis’ spontaneous reaction included the line, “You are shining!” The line, “You are shining, Harold Loomis. Shining like new money,” comes from August Wilson’s 1984 play, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. “That line is constantly playing out in my mind because what it encapsulates is someone stepping into their purpose,” Davis told Variety. “It gives me goose bumps. And that’s how I felt about Michael B. Jordan.”
Davis went on to call Jordan an “incredible human and an incredible leader.” And she’s excited to see what he does next. “It’s extremely exciting what he’s going to become,” she continued. “Now, he’s getting into directing. and he is going to bring African American filmmaking into a beautiful place.”
Michael B. Jordan said he cried while watching ‘Sinners’
Michael B. Jordan played twins Smoke and Stack in Sinners.
“When my longtime collaborator and friend Ryan Coogler called and broke down the premise of Sinners to me, he said, ‘Oh yeah, by the way, you’ll be playing identical twins,'” Jordan told W Magazine. “That took me back for a second. It definitely presented a challenge, and I had a little bit of anxiety. But I was equally excited about doing something that pushed me out of my comfort zone.”
He then told the publication that he cried while watching the film.
“I cried during Sinners,” he said. “I also cried during the making of the film.”
