Wunmi Mosaku shows 'ancestral power' with Bafta win
wunmi mosaku said she was "really shocked" after winning a Bafta for her role in Sinners, and described finding parts of herself she had tried to dim while trying to fit in as an immigrant. The 39-year-old — born in Nigeria and raised in Manchester — took the best supporting actress prize for her portrayal of Hoodoo priestess Annie in the musical horror film.
Wunmi Mosaku on Annie
Mosaku said: "I found a part of myself in Annie, a part of my hopes, my ancestral power and connection, parts I thought I had lost or tried to dim as an immigrant trying to fit in. " She told the winners' press conference: "It always feels good when you feel like your story and your experience is being represented with integrity and creativity. "
Win and personal reaction
Speaking about her victory on Sunday, Mosaku, who is pregnant, said: "I was like, 'That can't be right'. I was really shocked and I lost my breath and couldn't quite believe it. " She also thanked her daughter, adding: "you are my greatest teacher. " Mosaku said she had been pleased to see "the response of black women feeling seen, loved, valued, treasured, and the power of our ancestry and the spirituality" and that: "For me, seeing that response made me realise how lonely I felt and all of a sudden these women were in my life who I'd never met, I felt a kinship to. "
Career and earlier recognition
The 39-year-old was born in Nigeria and grew up in Manchester after moving with her family from the historic Nigerian city of Zaria to Manchester when she was a one-year-old baby. Mosaku's award comes nine years after she won the same category at the TV Baftas for her role in the drama Damilola, Our Loved Boy, about the death of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor, who was stabbed while walking home from a library in London. When that programme aired in 2016, she said: "I grew up on an estate in Manchester and people I've known from school have died in gang trouble and I always thought, 'If I'd been on a different estate at a different time, it could have been me'. "
Sinners, Coogler and screenplay history
Sinners also won a Bafta for best original screenplay, and Ryan Coogler made BAFTA history by becoming the first Black winner of the original screenplay category for Sinners. Coogler said, "I didn't expect that" and called the moment "nerve-wracking. " He added that he comes from a community that made him believe he could be a writer, described the pleasure of being accepted into the wider film community, and urged writers to let love for people they care about motivate them when facing a blank page.
Coogler beat a line-up that included I Swear (Kirk Jones), Marty Supreme (Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie), The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendonça Filho) and Sentimental Value (Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier). The historical horror Sinners is the year's second-most nominated film at Bafta with 13 nods — the most ever for a film directed by a Black filmmaker — and it shattered the all-time Oscars nominations record with 16.
Other winners and red carpet moments
One Battle After Another won best film, defeating Hamnet and Sinners. Robert Aramayo was named best actor for I Swear, and Jessie Buckley won best actress for Hamnet. The ceremony opened with a long list of films set to a Goldfrapp song and a red carpet montage that included several first-time attendees, one of whom threatened to vomit. A recent video showed Timothée Chalamet walking the red carpet.
On the red carpet, someone yelled "Is the monarchy in peril?" at Prince William during his walk. Prince William said he thought One Battle After Another was "weird", that he had not seen Sinners because it was "a bit dark", and that he liked F1. Paul Mescal and Gracie Abrams, who have been dating since about 2024, made their relationship red carpet official with a cheeky kiss; Mescal wore Prada while Abrams wore a beaded floral look from Chanel. Star Teyana Taylor made a case for the red carpet trench and dramatic ruffs, and between her and Archie Madekwe collars were described as having a moment.
Oscar prospects and timeline
Mosaku has been tipped for an Oscar for her portrayal of Annie in Sinners. Coogler's win was framed as positive for Oscar prospects; the context notes that at the Academy Awards only one Black screenwriter has previously won for original screenplay, Jordan Peele for Get Out. Final Oscar voting will take place from Feb. 26 to Mar. 5, and the 98th Oscars will be held on March 15, hosted by Conan O'Brien, with the ceremony set to air on ABC.
Mosaku said she was inspired to become an actress after watching the 1980s musical film Annie "every single day after school. " When family asked how she would achieve that ambition, she did an online search on the movie's cast and discovered that Salford-born actor Albert Finney, who played Daddy Warbucks, had trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Her screen credits include appearances in Luther and Black Mirror as well as Marvel movies, and she has received praise alongside Jack O'Connell for their roles in Sinners.
Close observers can now follow Mosaku's Bafta moment and the broader awards season developments as the film and its creators move toward the Oscars ballot deadlines and the March ceremony.
