London – British-Nigerian actress Wunmi Mosaku has won the best supporting actress award at the Bafta film awards for her role in the musical horror film Sinners. The 39-year-old, born in Zaria, Nigeria, and raised in Manchester, becomes the first black British winner in the category.
Mosaku plays Annie, a Hoodoo priestess, a role she says helped her rediscover parts of herself she had “lost or tried to dim as an immigrant trying to fit in.” She told reporters: “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.”
At the winners’ press conference, she reflected on the wider impact of her performance. “It always feels good when you feel like your story and your experience is being represented with integrity and creativity,” she said. She added that seeing the response from black women made her realise how isolated she had felt. “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.”
Mosaku’s recognition follows her earlier success at the TV Baftas nine years ago for her portrayal in the BBC drama Damilola, Our Loved Boy, about the death of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor in London. She recalled: “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’.”
Speaking about her latest 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, saying, “you are my greatest teacher.”
Mosaku’s acting journey began after watching the 1980s musical film Annie every day after school. She told The Graham Norton Show that when she shared her dream with family, they questioned how she would achieve it, prompting her to research the cast online. This led her to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she auditioned after a £3.50 Megabus trip.
Her early years included 11 years with the Manchester Girls Choir, which she describes as “one of my most precious memories.” Mosaku has also appeared in TV dramas such as Luther and Black Mirror and in Marvel films.
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