Hailee Steinfeld has opened up about working with Ryan Coogler. The actress revealed the small directing gesture that made the filmmaker stand out on the set of Sinners. Steinfeld also shared how Daniel Kaluuya helped shape her expectations before working with Coogler.
Hailee Steinfeld recalls Ryan Coogler’s personal directing approach on set
Hailee Steinfeld has praised Ryan Coogler for his personal approach to directing. Steinfeld discussed Coogler while appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She was initially talking about Daniel Kaluuya, her fellow Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse cast member.
Kaluuya, who worked with Coogler on Black Panther, spoke highly of the filmmaker. He told Steinfeld that she should work with Coogler if she ever got the chance. Steinfeld was then asked directly about Coogler as a director.
She said, “I can’t… We don’t have enough time. I will tell you, that man is the most incredible human being, partner, leader, beyond words. And one thing I love so much about working with him, and this kind of tied back to a story that Daniel had shared with me.”
According to Steinfeld, Coogler avoided simply shouting instructions across the set. “You know, you’re on set. There’s hundreds of people. And there’s often times where, you know, directors in Video Village, you’re far off in the set or whatever, and they’re shouting out a note to you, right?”
“And sometimes you can’t hear it, it gets lost in translation, and or you’re just feeling super vulnerable now that everyone knows the note you were given, and you have to, like, do it. If you don’t, then everyone knows you missed the mark.”
Instead, he would personally approach an actor and quietly explain what he wanted. She said, “Ryan would find his way to you. No matter the distance. He would come and whisper in your ear, you were the only person that heard exactly what he was after, and it just made you feel so grounded and connected, and, he sets everyone up for success, and you feel that, the minute you made him.”
Sinners became one of the biggest movies of 2025. Coogler wrote and directed the period vampire horror film. Michael B. Jordan led the cast alongside Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, and Wunmi Mosaku.
The movie also made history at the Academy Awards. Sinners received a record 16 nominations at the 98th Academy Awards and won four Oscars.
