Legend has it that in 1930s Mississippi, American blues musician Robert Johnson made a deal with the devil, selling his soul at the Highway crossroads in exchange for fortune and fame. An undeniable tether to blues music’s association with the supernatural, Johnson’s infamous lore sits at the centre of Ryan Coogler’s new genre-splicing epic, Sinners. Taking place over one seemingly endless day and night in the rural town of Clarksdale, Coogler paints an evocative portrait of the American South amid a time of Jim Crow Laws, prohibition and societal strife. 

Following a string of blockbuster hits from the Black Panther and Creed franchises, Sinners marks Coogler’s first original screenplay since his debut feature film in 2013, Fruitvale Station. Michael B. Jordan returns as Coogler’s protagonist, taking on not one but two leading roles as gangster twins Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown from Chicago to open up a juke joint on a fated property in the Southern state. As opening night arrives and Delta blues bands rage on into the small hours, the metaphysical veil between life and death is lifted with the arrival of Jack O’Connell’s vampiric character Remmick. Wielding a banjo, singing folk songs and doing the occasional Irish jig, Remmick is a vampire operating in plain sight, luring his victims with the promise of eternal life, peace and community. “He’ll try and pass himself off as who he needs to be in order to lower people’s defences,” O’Connell tells us below, “to get what he needs – get what he wants.”

Ella Joyce: First and foremost, congratulations on the film – it’s brilliant. Sinners is such a genre-bending movie, what was your initial reaction when reading the script for the first time?
Jack O’Connell: Thank you. I just didn’t know how to compute it because it really defied what I expect from scripts and films; that’s probably what separates Ryan Coogler from me and my imagination. [laughs] The most reassuring factor is that Ryan is not only such a brilliant and well-established director, but he’s also a massive fan of cinema. He wants to challenge the norms and strip back convention. It takes a real masterful touch to be able to pull it off and he has, it’s such an amazing honour to be a part of that.

EJ: The story is set in 1930s Mississippi during the time of Jim Crow Laws, Prohibition and, most importantly to this story, the rise of blues music. What was it like immersing yourself in that time period and the music that came along with it?
JOC: It is such a rich period in American history, this mass migration of people and the resulting culture you get from that. Melting pot is a cliché, but it doesn’t do it enough service to fully appreciate just how many influences were coming over to not just the South, but all over America. It really is a fascinating study, and credit to Ryan for being a savant, learning and understanding the origins of the music properly. My character’s influence is bringing in the Irish folk tradition and what that resulted in culturally – giving ordinary working people something to enjoy, something to express themselves with.

“A good horror film has got to shit you up one way or another.”

EJ: When we first meet your character Remmick, it’s quite an ambiguous introduction, but it soon becomes apparent that he’s a vampire. How would you describe him, and what was it that drew you to him?
JOC: He’s a creation of Ryan Coogler’s imagination, first and foremost. Because he is a vampire, it means he’s been around for a long, long time, a good number of centuries even. There’s all this backstory to think about: he originates from Ireland, he’s got a penchant for traditional Irish music and stuff that takes him home, but when we meet him, he’s in the American South. He’s an impostor, and he’s purporting to be anyone he can in order to earn the trust of the people he claims as his victims. It’s an amazing study, an amazing multi-dimensional character with a number of faces. We’re with him on this one night, and that became the key to the character: the understanding that at any given time and in any given interaction he’ll try and pass himself off as who he needs to be in order to lower people’s defences to get what he needs – get what he wants.

EJ: I think that’s what is most scary about him, he’s operating in plain sight, there are no fanciful effects. When you think of vampire movies, your mind immediately goes to these cloaked figures skulking in dark corners.
JOC: Exactly that.

EJ: Were there any particular movies or performances you looked to as references when building Remmick’s character?
JOC: Definitely, not so much in the specific vampire world because Remmick just so happens to be a vampire, he doesn’t present as one most of the time. Until all the prosthetics are on, and then you are looking at any performance that is prosthetic-heavy, it could be Jim Carey in The Grinch to Gary Oldman as Dracula. It’s something I’m quite new to, so it is important to watch and learn. In terms of Remmick in his persona and personality, you’re looking at people who existed around that time and their older mannerisms, how people carried themselves.

EJ: I’ve never been a big fan of horror movies… [both laugh] But, the horror element in this film is delivered with real nuance; it’s underpinned by so many different elements. For you, what is it that makes a really good horror movie? 
JOC: I used to have a very low tolerance for cheese, but now I seem to appreciate cheese. [both laughs] I don’t know why that’s relevant to the horror genre, but it is. A good horror film has got to shit you up one way or another. The scariest film I grew up watching was The Blair Witch Project, when that came out I was too young to be watching it.

“It was great to feel the elements but a pain in the arse when you’re getting eaten alive by creepy crawlies and alligators trying to get in the scene.”

EJ: Music is a big part of the movie but also a big part of your role, singing Irish folk songs, playing instruments and dancing. What was it like getting to tap into that? 
JOC: If a role is coming with this mixed bag of additional requirements, you have to charge at it. I’d done Irish dancing when I was really young, my dad took me to lessons as a kid, so when I’m reading the script I’m thinking, “OK, I think they’ve come to the right man here.” [both laugh] The singing was definitely the most daunting element because I don’t class myself as a singer, I just sing in pubs when we’ve all had a few, and even then, I wake up cringing the next day. [laughs] That was way out of my comfort zone but you’ve got to have a fucking bash at it anyway, haven’t you?

EJ: Well, you looked like a natural.
JOC: All I’ve got to do is look the part! [laughs]

EJ: There was one particular scene of yours that was quite chilling, and it’s when you’re in the middle of the, for want of a better word, cult… [Jack laughs] Singing an Irish folk song with everyone dancing around you. What was that like to film?
JOC: So much in that scene just happened off the cuff, partly down to Ryan’s direction, but I think also we were just going with it. A lot of what you see in the picture is really spontaneous, but the dance itself was prewritten. It was a wild night, man – it felt appropriately deranged. We were into night shoots then, and we shot this in the second half of the night. The camera work was amazing, and it was incredible to see it materialise. Eventually the sun started coming up, so like real vampires we had to scarper and get out of there because we couldn’t shoot anymore, we needed to get home so we could rest up for the next night. I remember when the sun did come up that morning it felt quite transcendent, I was just like, “What a fucking absurd night we’ve all had together.” [both laugh] It’s a shared energy, a totally transcending energy felt by all. It’s amazing when you get that at work.

EJ: The ensemble cast is incredible. What was it like working with everyone on set?
JOC: It was brilliant. I was completely in awe of Michael B. Jordan taking on not one lead role but two, and the professionalism he applied to the overall task was amazing. He was so personable with everyone on set, not that that’s a surprise, but it was a tough ask for him. He remained collaborative, as did everyone, and maybe that was because Michael set the tone like that. Right across the board it was such a talented bunch, even our newcomer young Miles Caton, he’s got fucking bags of talent – sickening amounts of talent, actually. [laughs] But so humble, so genuine, it just makes you feel so fortunate to be a part of.

“If I could only do Ryan Coogler films from now on then fucking sign me up I’ll do it”

EJ: We touched on Ryan earlier, but what was it like working with him as a director and getting to be a part of his storytelling? He’s become such a revered filmmaker over the past decade or so.
JOC: Definitely. I think I’m still coming to terms with it all, to be honest. He’s my kind of director. I feel so blessed, I’ll be eternally grateful to him for this opportunity and if I could only do Ryan Coogler films from now on then fucking sign me up I’ll do it. [laughs]

EJ: The movie is set in Mississippi, but I know you shot in Louisiana, and the landscape itself boasts quite punishing conditions, be it physically or metaphorically. How do you feel the backdrop accents the story, and what was it like filming in the South? 
JOC: It definitely does accent the story. I think it’s one of the most useful things about shooting on location versus being in a studio when you don’t have total control of the elements. To be in there and to feel the adversity, to feel the humidity breathing down your neck, it gives you one less thing to have to perform. And with storytelling like this, you don’t want to be too comfortable because it’ll ruin it. We were getting battered by the weather, the schedule was getting torn up every second day because Louisiana is particularly volatile at that time of year, hurricanes and shit, stuff that you don’t want to be shooting or doing anything outside in. Hiding in a bath is where you want to be. [laughs] It was great to feel the elements but a pain in the arse when you’re getting eaten alive by creepy crawlies and alligators trying to get in the scene. What a story to tell, eh? [laughs]

Sinners is exclusively in cinemas from April 18th. 

Hair Stylist | Brady Lea @ A-Frame Agency
Make-Up | Lesley Vye
Photography Assistants | Bruno McGuffie, Merrin Edwards
Fashion Assistant | Vini Chenoweth Bell