Could Nigerian Actress Wunmi Mosaku Pick Up An Oscar?

The 98th Academy Awards are about to take place on the 15th March, and fans around the world are eagerly paying attention to which films could pick up prizes. 

There are a total of 24 competitive categories at the Oscars, including best picture, best director, and best cinematography. The exciting news for Nigerian entertainment is that Nigerian actress Wunmi Mosaku has been nominated for the ‘Best Actress in a Supporting Role’ Oscar for her performance as Annie in Sinners.

The hype surrounding the Oscars is nothing to be scoffed at. You’ll start seeing its effects everywhere in the run up, from increased sales in popcorn and movie tickets to the increasing prominence of commercial tie-ins as studios pit their films’ cultural relevance against each other. The already vast wealth of film-branded titles available at online casinos (which includes The Godfather, The Mummy and Rocky) will no doubt become even more prevalent, and T-shirts featuring your favorite movie characters will be worn all the louder and prouder – and Sinners may well be leading the charge.

In this article, we’ll break down some of the more interesting details surrounding Mosaku’s performance, the film itself, as well as what her chances are of picking up the Academy Award. 

Odds That Mosaku Will Win the Oscars 

As the Academy Awards approach, speculation about winners is building up. Many sites have Mosaku at fairly decent odds to win the Oscar, with Variety notably putting her as the third most likely candidate to win Best Supporting Actress, just below Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in Sentimental Value, and Teyana Taylor in One Battle After Another. 

It’s clear to see why Mosaku is one of the front-runners for the award. She has been widely praised for delivering a powerful, standout performance as a hoodoo healer in Sinners. 

Sinners has won the award for the most Oscar-nominated film of all time, with a total of 16 nominations. This surpasses the previous record of 14 nominations, previously held by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land. The film stars Michael B Jordan as twin brothers Elijah and Elias, who aim to escape a criminal past in 1932 Mississippi, only to encounter supernatural vampires.

This film appeals to fans because it is an original story that offers a unique theatrical experience by taking a different approach to the traditional horror trope. This puts the film in a very optimistic position to win the Best Picture award, which would be a welcome message for African artists around the world. 

Mosaku’s Performance 

Mosaku’s performance added greatly to the entertainment value. Critics have designated her the ‘soulful core’ of the film. She prepared extensively for her role, studying the art of Hoodoo and perfecting a Louisiana Creole dialect.

This, she stated, connected her to her Yoruba ancestry. Mosaku was born in Zaria, Nigeria, to Yoruba parents. At an early age, she moved to Manchester, where her mother started her own business, and her father eventually returned to Nigeria. 

She made her professional stage debut in 2007, and in 2008, she appeared at the first UNDEREXPOSED, which was designed to celebrate the talent that exists among the Black British community. She has appeared in a variety of different film and television roles over the course of her 20-year professional career, being nominated and winning several awards during that time, including a Bafta award and a British Independent Film Award. 

For Sinners, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the BAFTA Film Awards and the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, while also winning the Gotham Independent Film Awards for outstanding supporting performance. Will an Oscar win be next on the cards?