Ryan Coogler has "more confidence" in Michael B. Jordan than anyone else.
The 38-year-old director reunited with Michael to make 'Sinners', their new supernatural horror film, and Ryan has revealed how he convinced Michael to play two lead characters in the movie.
The acclaimed filmmaker told Deadline: "Mike’s very ambitious and you actually have a better chance to get him to say yes if the thing requires more of him. And I know that about him.
"I wanted to write a role for him that was worth his time and energy, where the execution of it was incredibly difficult. And honestly, I have more confidence in Mike and his abilities than anybody. And I did not expect him to be as good as he was in this."
Michael, 38, plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack in 'Sinners', and Ryan believes Michael has delivered "the two best performances" of his career.
The director said: "Just flat out, I think these two performances are the two best performances I’ve ever seen him give. And knowing who he is, Mike personally is very close to who the Stack character is. But seeing him become Smoke, as somebody who’s a friend of his, was very unnerving."
Meanwhile, Michael recently revealed that Ryan convinced him that he could become a movie star.
The actor has frequently worked with Ryan over the last decade, and the acclaimed director has played an important role in Michael's success.
The Hollywood star - who has worked with Ryan on a host of projects, including 'Creed', 'Black Panther' and 'Sinners' - told 'Extra': "It’s extremely important to me … I feel like, at a time, earlier in my career when I was figuring out what type of actor I wanted to be, lead actor, you know, like where do I stand in entertainment industry? Only been a part of ensembles and in this nature, never opened a movie before, never been a lead of a film before, so I was searching for that and Ryan was the first director to believe in that, and tell me I was a movie star and believed it and made me believe it, you know?"
Michael stars alongside Hailee Steinfeld in 'Sinners', and the actor previously claimed that his co-star's performance shows her "in a new light".
Michael told WhoWhatWear: "Hailee's performance in 'Sinners' is very, very versatile and honestly fun.
"I think it's gonna make people lean in and get a chance to see her in a way they haven't had an opportunity to see her in before.
"As you know, it's tough to grow up in this industry where people get a chance to see you every step of the way, and they kinda have an idea of who you are and what you can do. I think this is one of those roles that's gonna show Hailee in a new light."
