In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast features in-depth conversations with today’s most noteworthy actors and creators. Join host and senior editor Vinnie Mancuso for this guide to living the creative life from those who are doing it every day.
“What are you doing to me, man?” Michael B. Jordan asks on the latest episode of In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast. It’s a fair question, given the hypothetical posed to him. The actor just got his first Academy Award nomination for the dual role of twin brothers Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler’s period vampire drama “Sinners.” But in a world where only one performance could get the nod, which sibling would be headed to the Oscars? Using the quick instincts required to be an A-lister, Jordan gives a great answer: “I’ll put Smoke in lead and Stack in supporting.”
It’s understandable that Jordan can’t leave one brother behind. The double performance is so seamless, you eventually forget that it’s a single actor. That result comes not only from Jordan’s commitment to differentiating the characters through physical quirks and speech patterns, but also the great technical challenge of filming most scenes twice: once as Smoke, then again as Stack.
“It’s tough, because more often than not, you can’t go back. You gotta be like, Damn, why didn’t I think about that shit?” he says with a laugh, referring to living with the choices he made in the first take while shooting the second. “Obviously, if it’s something that I feel very strongly about, I can try and make my case. But I know what that does to our day. I know what that means from a director’s standpoint, how tough that is.”
He continues: “Honestly, with all the cast and the elements that are only in [a scene] when cameras are rolling, that’s where the magic happens. Sometimes you just can’t [go back]. There are some moments I’ve never even spoken [about] out loud; I just keep it to myself because it’s actually too painful to say out loud, ‘Damn, that would have been good.’ But when it comes to making movies, what’s meant to be is really meant to be.”
On this episode, Jordan opens up about first meeting his five-time collaborator Coogler, the most challenging part of shooting “Sinners,” getting emotional about anime, his favorite theater memories, and much more. Listen and subscribe to hear the full conversation:
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