Ryan Coogler has built an impressive career in Hollywood. Now he can add the title of Academy Award winner to his resume.
The 39-year-old won the best original screenplay Oscar for ‘Sinners’ and received a standing ovation after accepting the award on Sunday night.
The film, set in the Delta region of Mississippi in the 1930s, stars Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, and Hailee Steinfeld as Mary. The story centers around a juke joint.
The Coogler film blends “vampire lore, hoodoo, and intense action” as the two worlds of natural and supernatural evil are rooted in cultural lineage. It’s definitely not for the weak hearted.
Sinners received 16 Oscar nominations, the most for any film in history. The nominations included Best Picture, Best Directing, and Jordan for Best Actor.
“Please, please, please sit down, ’cause I’m very nervous and they’re gonna play me off. I grew up in Oakland, California, and we can talk a lot,” Coogler said during his acceptance speech. “I wanna thank the Academy for thinking of our movie that came out almost a year ago. This is an incredible honor. I wanna thank my fellow nominees. I wanna thank y’all for the gifts that y’all movies were and for y’all’s friendship over the past years and months.”
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Ryan Coogler wins his first-ever Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for ‘SINNERS’
Coogler was a record-setting WR at Sacramento State from 2004–07 pic.twitter.com/KKpZLbXZyS
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 16, 2026
Coogler is the first former Division I college football player to win an Oscar.
As a receiver at Sacramento State, he recorded 112 receptions for 1,213 yards and six touchdowns. Needless to say, giving up football has paid off for the director.
Jordan took home the award for Best Actor. The film also won for Achievement in Cinematography and Original Score.
Four out of the 16 nominations isn’t a bad total.
